Trekkers

 

       

                                             

  1)   A long line of trekkers in scorching heat

        Not for pastime, their sweating faces reveal

        Deprived of jobs, life’s ends they could not meet;

        Their sorrows and troubles none  did feel;

        Their battered lives thrown like orange peels

        By their so-called masters with selfish deals.

2)     All ways blocked, no vehicles to return

        Hounded by ruthless rules, no way to turn;

        With starving families their bosoms burn;

        They took to streets as no one showed concern;

        They trudged on roads like frightened beasts

        Carrying loads with none to care at least.

3)     Cut off from homes and from their kith and kin 

         They struggled for minimum wages to earn

         In city’s slums they dwell with dust and din;

         Not for royal luxuries they did yearn;

        This pandemic threw their lives out of gear

        No help and support for them from anywhere.

4)    Trekking hundreds of miles with loads on heads

       A long line of migrant  workers from different states;

       Resting on wayside farms and in broken sheds

       Just like beggars left alone cursing their fate;

       Is this the due reward for their incessant strain?

       For their hard industry what did they gain?

5)    The city drained their strength in selfish ways

        Rejecting them in times of troublesome days;

        Drove them out from their slums, nowhere to stay

        Depriving their due benefits and pay;

        None cared to see their deplorable state

        The city locked down shutting their gates.

6)    The city prospered feeding on their blood

       The city squeezed their fruits of toil to gain;

       The city let them suffer and struggle in a flood

       Of miseries, disease and starving pain;

       Left them like refugees in alien deserts lost

       Made them return to home with tragic thoughts.

7)   Some died of starvation on their way

      Some fell down sick exhausted and weak

      Some could not bear the heat of blazing day

      Mired in poverty their future seemed too bleak;

      Some were whisked away back to shelters dim

      Cooped up to spend their days in situation grim.

8)   Returning to their homes, their cherished dream

      To live or die there, their final goal;

      None cared to hear their woes, their agonized screams

      None recognized their toil, their vital role;

     Their families pestered with ailments and pain

     Their strenuous stay brought them nothing to gain.

9)  Their travelling ordeal moved many hearts

      Their tears and cries, a shameful curse

      On those who treat people with heartless thoughts

      On those who cared only for their power and purse;

      What these poor people need only quick relief

      And liberal help to lessen their grief.

10) In these times of sudden adversity

       Let us extend our help to suffering men

       Our support in testing times of necessity;

       Inhuman to leave them in lurch and shun;

       Save these trekkers from their stress and strain

       Let powers act, not speak mere platitudes in vain.

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  10th May, 2020                                    Somaseshu Gutala