18th of April
India’s daughter dies
Jamlo makdam
Her unheard cries
Was she ever a kid?
Or did her work forbid?
Her hands scoured the chilli fields
Telangana to Chhattisgarh she heeds
12 years’ old
150 km bold
So far so near
From her mother and her father
So much fear
The virus is here
Yet she didn’t shed a tear
Yet 50 km is all that stood by her and her goal
But dreams went down the gutter
As her last word, she uttered
Dehydration
Exhaustion
Or was it child labour?
One must ponder.
Nandhitha Babuji is a 17-year-old (turning 18 next month) aspiring poet from Tamil Nadu, passionate about using her words to show solidarity against children’s issues.
