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Ode to unpaid labor

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                    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”

Ode to unpaid labor

Copyright © | Year Posted 2024




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Date: 11/12/2024 11:24:00 AM
Hello Amitabhn Divakar, so nice to meet you. Yes an Ode to the unpaid labor. enjoy your day my friend. /Darlene/
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De Beaulieu Avatar
Darlene De Beaulieu
Date: 11/15/2024 11:20:00 AM
Hello Amitabh Dikvakar, You can call me by my first name. yes you are my friend. I am happy to be your first. En joy your day my friend. /Darlene/ Hugs.
Divakar Avatar
Amitabh Divakar
Date: 11/15/2024 1:12:00 AM
Thank you Darlene De Beaulieu, my friend for your kind response.

Book: Reflection on the Important Things