By Lokenath Roy
MY FATHER's DETOUR
I sat with my school dress on; waiting
for baba to finish his detour of the paddy fields
on his way home. It made me curious --
this detour. I would ask mother with raised eyebrows,
but never get an answer.
I have seen the cycle lie slanted
on a slender date tree bark by the pond.
Maybe he caught fish.
Years ago, when there was no toilet in the household,
he frequented the shabby unused ghat and
smoked beedi* as he squatted beside the stone steps on
the dewy brown grass patches.
Now we have toilets made
for everyone in the village.
Stashes of fuming beedi litter the ghat.
Maybe, after all these years, he has grown attached
to the pond side. A daily attachment.
*Beedi: A thin cigarette smoked in the Indian Subcontinent
Lokenath Roy’s work explores themes of society, memory, and the human experience. His poems have appeared in several literary journals and online magazines like The Cawnpore Magazine and The Monograph Magazine. His work is also immensely popular on platforms like Quora.
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