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from far
a basket of unoiled hair
bobs from a mobile, steel
bin in the mornings.
lakshmi digs the bin for plastic
waste;
breaking off,
sleeps on her plastic sack
with stray dogs beside a twig fire;
till, mother comes from the morning
search for waste.
butterflying from child to a girl,
wary of the sniff and snore of
tarred roads,
lakshmi earns a vada pav with tea
for wiping clean the tea shop
under the rain tree.
her airy plea for a pair of plastic
bangles is pending.
evenings,
rests behind the bin
filling up fast.
her mother started that way
continues to this day.