Bonded Labour – Delhi Poetry Slam

Bonded Labour

By Debendra Kumar Bauri


I am sore,
fallen from the hellfire of tyranny.
I am the song,
of sharp, unyielding pain,
gasping for breath,
each day, 
in the whirlpool, 
of a newborn hell.

They measure,
the salt in my sweat,
the speed of my blood,
racing through my veins.
And I draw a bolt of defiance,
on the canvas of oppression.

Don’t think I am blind.
In this raging pool of hunger,
I watched you, 
you let the fingerlings grow,
just to fatten the greed,
you dare to call a soul.

I see through your conspiracy,
the way you pat my innocence, 
only to silence it.

You bury me,
and my dreams,
deep in the darkness of soil.
But each time,
I rise, 
a defiant question,
cracking the crust,
to sprout again.

I am the sip of red wine,
that haunts your veins. 
The addiction, 
you can’t escape.


Leave a comment