Ibohal Kshetrimayum Poet ABC

Five Lives and a Shadow

In my homeland
Every man was born
With five lives and a shadow

In my homeland
Every man walked
With five lives and a shadow

In my homeland
When a man died
Five lives and a shadow died with him

In my homeland
A father prompted in a newborn's ears
Names of ancestors and the clan
And concluded the ritual
Whispering names of
Five lives and a shadow
And the child grew to live and know
His five lives and the shadow

In my homeland
When a baby completed six days on earth
We worshiped our fairy angel of prosperity

In my homeland
When a toddler stopped playing in the day
And stayed awake crying all night long
A grandma sewed a pouch
Put rice-grains fish and vegetables in it
Bent a bamboo down
Tied the offering to its tip and
Released it with a prayer
To our fairy godmother
For peace unto the infant
Who was confused by light and darkness

In my homeland
When a child's tooth fell off
A mother placed it in a cotton ball
With a piece of coal and
Threw it up on the roof
Asking fairy godmother for a stronger one
In return

Today
In my homeland
A man dies everyday
Without a life
Even before a shadow comes along
To join him
And names of fairies
Have been swapped
For
Five lives and a shadow
No longer dwell
In my homeland

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