Poem: The Song from A Barefoot Poet (?????: ???? ???)

Dear Reader, please read my poem: 'The Song from A Barefoot Poet (?????: ???? ???),' in both Bengali and English here:

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Poem: The Song from A Barefoot Poet

Aniruddha Sarkar

27 September 2023

I may opt for a nameless barefoot poet.

I may sing my self-composed songs as I trade on the dusty rural roads.

I play the tune in my Ektara, the single-string instrument, as I keep singing my songs while on the move through the village roads.

Here, I can feel the vibrant stock of life among these rustic, down-to-earth villagers.

They love my songs.

They sometimes invite me to their kuchha mud-built, thatch-roofed homes out of affection.

I may sit on their portico and keep singing for hours together.

They listen to my songs in apt attention while doing their daily chores.

They also lovingly share their food with me.

Someone may ask, O poet, where do you stay? Where is your family?

I tell them, that this universe has adopted me from all directions.

I have made the road my home.

I live a simple life, sleep on the grassy land, and beg my daily food from my hosts in the villages.

I am comfortable with this routine.

I shall compose and sing the song of the ordinary people, about their happiness, and worries, in my own creative way.

If you also sing those songs, that would be great.

The entire world shall know this genre of songs, as the songs from the road.

The road shall be glorified.

I, as one among many such unknown and barefoot poets, always want to stay in the background as a nameless entity.

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