We will be your eyes now
to see the sun steal in silently
through the leaves
the fat millipede cruise slowly past
idly inspecting every pebble and leaf
in its path
the cow licking her calf tenderly
in the middle of the road
blocking traffic
we will be your ears
to hear the eagle’s screech and the koel’s song
and the wind tickling the trees
and the rain, and the sea
we will rub the puppy’s belly for you
and tweak its ears
and let it gnaw at our fingers
we will paint the sky and the trees
and the moon reflected in still waters
we will carve funny creatures
out of wood and scrap, teeth and all
and we will not miss you
we are you
your blood, your eyes and ears,
we will breathe for you.
– Ammu Nalapat
Very moving tribute I must say and reading this I felt the blood of my ancestors coursing in my veins. Life is a continuum
Thank you : ) Quite comforting to be part of that continuum…
At twenty you don’t see it, and you needn’t. At thirty some suggestions arrive. You see it and yet you don’t see it. At forty you see it and want to do something about it. At fifty, you do it and and sixty, I don’t know. Perhaps the long stream of your ancestors erase you thin.