Zorami
Epitaph
of a thousand dead
a thousand living-dead
and dreams dead
river of tears
flowing full to the brim
sad bard who sings
of ignoble deeds
turbid wars, sunken ships
lost treasures never found
though lives were lost in the searching
and a new dawn that never breaks
soul in torment
whose sighs and cries do not cease
wandering ghost in the night
in search of a resting place
shadow of a might-have-been
fiaratui 1 once clean and clear
trampled, muddied
I am.
Am I
waiting for another thim zing 2?
The darkness at skull hill
covers all.
1 Mizo mythical stream of the purest, sweetest water.
2 A time of total darkness in Mizo myth, when drastic transformations, such as a corpse becoming a constellation
in the sky, took place.
Note: Zorami is the name of a Mizo woman. She represents the fate of women in conflict situations in this poem.
