To lie with Ganges soil: some tombs were temples,
Some were cenotaphs; and one, a tiny Taj.
Here lay sundry relatives, including Uncle Henry,
Who"d been for many years a missionary.
"Sacred to the Memory
Of Henry C. Wagstaff,
Who translated the Gospels into Pashtu,
And was murdered by his own Chowkidar.
"Well done, thou good and faithful servant"-
So ran his epitaph.
The gardener, who looked after the trees,
Also dug graves. One day
I found him working at the bottom of a new cavity,
"They never let me know in time," he grumbled.
"Last week I dug two graves, and now, without warning,
Here"s another. It isn"t even the season for dying.
There"s enough work all summer, when cholera"s about-
Why can"t they keep alive through the winter?"
Near the railway-lines, watching the trains
(There were six every day, coming or going),
And across the line, the leper colony . . .
I did not know they were lepers till later
But I knew they were different: some
Were without fingers or toes
And one had no nose
And a few had holes in their faces
And yet some were beautiful
They had their children with them
And the children were no different
From other children.
I made friends with some
And won most of their marbles
And carried them home in my pockets.