Carrying
A load
Of bricks
On head
” The unaccounted builders of India". An Ode to
You see them on all U
Construction sites N
They work P
In pairs A
Man; as a mason I
Woman; helps, assists D
Carrying loads Walking up flights Labor
Stairs Two stories high
A brick weighs 5 pounds hanging
Cement bags weighs 150. from a sling
Man lays upto thousand bricks in a day. blissfully
Task that must be accomplished ” " asleep
Them a family, with a few babies * Infant
Playing on ground covered in dust
Some still in Mom’s womb. overseeing
Their home a tarpaulin sheet the mansion
Resting on a few poles his parents
If lucky they get a shack build.
A disposable hut in a labor colony
The wife gets 6$ a day Man earns 10
They come with their lunch box
That would fit in a man’s pocket
Water is good for construction quality
They come to cities from far off villages
Their life is short. By the time they are fifty
They return to their home ground
With savings to build a home
This time it is for themselves
They return home well-dressed
In new Sari, Ornaments
Unwavering Pride
In work In selves
A line
Echoes
“ All the great architecture in the world:
It has been done by unpaid labor”