Worm-Land Poem by Priyendra Kishore Dutta

My heart, stand still;
For mist is thick on ground,
On dew, on crinkled straw
Which once lived as grass.

One sun-
Has turned two,
But both are dim, pale & grey-
Like the uncouth shadow of ghosts
Who, a short while ago,
Lived as sons of God.

Only the mist—
Through the caverns of this lump of clay-
Prevails, persists;
In this ‘no man’s land’.

Now this clay has changed
Into a land of worms
Of different shapes & minds,
Full of nets, networks & webs.

And they creep,
They creep through the holes of time
Into the mist
With ‘uncouth’ hearts in hands;
To the roads
Which once lived as glades….