Our Village Gods Are Waiting... Poem by Veeraiyah Subbulakshmi

All these big houses hold a few sad people,
At the most two, the rest have had new nests,
Just a hundred to many thousands miles away,
Once they sheltered dozens of happy go lucky broods,

Once a year they are returning to worship the village God,
The procession of relatives with lighted mind and heart,
Carrying the presents from the next village and overseas,
The hired cars have the emigrants, who can’t stand the heat,

The women of the households, related to the men,
Pick up the flowers to tie the garland and gossip,
The men of the culture, the direct descendants of brothers,
Congregate in groups to discuss and fire the crackers,

The villages Gods are happy to see their next generation kids,
Who are ready to shave their head and have their ears pierced,
The biggest pots are boiling with choicest grains and cashews,
Home coming festival going on for many thousand years,