Read the poem and answer questions
At dawn must I rise to till the rock
That our land has turned into
The land whereon we’d gleefully harvested paddy
Planted and nurtured and tended on plots marshy
Our woes are bloody woes of accursed revenges
Of the land spirits aggrieved by paltry human respect
For the life of fellow man by his fellow
Kindred blood has counted for less than no value
Brother’s wife has been wife to other brother’s brother
Communal loot has emptied our country silos
The earth has stopped breathing and sighed
Soldered tears has the moon shed
The earth was scorched at noon-day night
And our land has turned to hoeing rock.
A. drought and heat
B. abomination and retribution
C. sickness and death
D. famine and disease
Correct Answer: Option C
C. sickness and death
Explanation
The surrounding atmosphere of the poem and particularly lines 7 and 8 point respectively to the central theme of abomination which has overtaken the land and retributive justice i.e the vengance by the gods and spirits upon the land.
