from the Kumbh stampede,
got away in the crowd.
Kicked around across
the road.
A dog took it
to the next street.
It found a way
to the sewers,
then to the nearby river,
and was gulped
by the ocean.
It reached another city.
A tramp found it
by the shore.
Placed it on his left foot
to check the size-
wore it along with
the right sandal he had
picked up elsewhere.
A new story began.
A journey of walk, run,
and hustle in the rubble.
The slipper saw
new gods, new dirt,
and streets that
never slept.
It carried hunger,
dust, and songs
of cheap liquor shops-
the chants of Kumbh
long washed away.
tore open shortly.
found a landfill now.
beside a broken idol
and a torn tricolor
and a skull-
Faith, nation, and bones.
all used, worn, and
misplaced, and replaced-
a story that got as
human as it could.
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