Thirteen souls
left their homes, villages
for the dreamland,
they gathered at railway stations
with dreams in their heads,
hopes in their hearts
and travelled two nights,
thinking of the bright days in the dreamland
for the rest of their lives,
finally they reached New Delhi
where they met each other
and the scheming agents-dream merchants,
they ate, played cards,
and nursed their dreams,
while their visas were arranged,
the agents took their time,
finally visas were brought,
air tickets were booked,
joyous were the dreamers
though they had different routes,
routes to Europe- their dreamland
the land of instant riches,
the land of prosperity,
the land of opportunity,
they passed over different lands
India-Uzbekistan-Russia-Finland
Delhi -Kiev-Frankfurt and so on;
the scheming agent had assured them all
work that paid a thousand euros every month,
in restaurants run by their friends,
but plans went wrong,
the agents fled with their air tickets and cash,
leaving them at large,
in a dark hole, dungeon
in the city of white nights,
they had nothing to eat, nothing to drink,
and no money to pay rent,
one day,the young landlady arrived with a bottle of vodka,
knocked on their door, shouting…

‘pay me rentttt… renttttttttt…
or my boys will tear you tonight'
they were scared, terrified,
they screamed for help
in the babble of drowning voices,
searched for the vanishing agents,
but help was far,
night fell,
and the landlady's boys arrived,
they drank and smoked,
and she screamed with wild joy,
then they fell upon the dreamers
like hungry wolves,
bled them all,
one by one,
their violent screams filled the dark space
but help was far,
police came only at dawn,
their hopes were shattered
dreams ruined
they could not even return home,
they had overstayed,
they had broken the law of the land,
now they awaited deportation;
a good samaritan,
a fellow countryman
came forward to help,
offered them rice and bread,
offered them a place to live,
dignity,
a month later,
they returned home
with mental scars,
hopes dashed,
hearts broken,
dreams shattered,
debts to be paid;
but they returned home
with steely determination,
to build their lives,
build their villages,
and to build a new India of their dreams.