In the eerie silence

Of the vast desert plains,

A tiny village

Is about to sleep.

Little thatched huts

Glimmering with kerosene lamps,

The star-lit sky

Matched by another one beneath.

Mantras from evening prayers,

A baby’s wail in the distance,

A lullaby floats in cool night air,

Crickets singing in the bushes.

Flash of lights,

Thunderclaps,

The train zips by

In one quick dash.

Serpent squeals, a clatter of wheels

Breaking the fabric of silent peace.

Mantras drown, the wail stutters

Clitter, clatter, hisses, buzzes,

Deafening roar of the steel monster

Overwhelms, flushes, silences.

The noise recedes

As quickly as it came.

Diminishing, vanishing

Yellow spot in the distance.

The mantras resume

As if by magic,

Everything heals.

It is a matter of time

The crickets are singing again.