Mud People

26/10/10

Mud People by Tariq Latif

Tariq Latif was born in Pakistan, Lahore, and spent a very happy childhood on his grandfather's farm before moving to Manchester in the early 70s. He went to Sheffield University and after various jobs decided to settle in Argyll to enjoy the beautiful scenery and write poetry. He has 3 books of poetry published. The most recent is The Punjabi Weddings, published by Arc in 2007. 'Mud People' was first published in his book The Minister's Garden.

Mud people

Leaving Tesco with a boot full of food
we turn left into Broad Road.
Pebbles of light skim across the windscreen.

Listening to the World News on the radio
we coast past trees abundant with pink blossoms
as the voice speaks of the men and children

who were thrown in the river with their hands
and feet tied. Heads bobbed in the water. Pink
blooms in the car as somewhere else bullets

break bones. The car moves under the shadow
of grand willow trees. The news reader is speaking
about the floods in Pakistan. Houses of mud

swept away in the relentless floods. The winding
streets, the arteries bloated with the thick waves
of slush. Light glistens across the black water,

dark limbs fester. Slowly we turn into Temple Road.
 

Tariq Latif

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