REPORTER

Election campaign
sometime back I
watched them on TV screens
all street-side dwellers,
with no roofs over
their heads
only roof
the common roof
a canopy of
shapeless, moving patterns of
blue, white, dark, ash, orange
embroidered
the sky with various moods
warm, blazing,
needling rays
and
sometimes like tears
of God
a heavy downpour
but no
refuge whatsoever
from scorching heat
from seething cold
old,
middle-aged,
young,
children,
tiny tots
with not even a
torn cloth to cover
in the piercing cold,
all shivering like oracles.
A channel reporter
sympathies eyes full
it has no dearth these days
interviewing each
your votes to whom this time?
A big 'No' in chorus
'what for we vote?
see our plight
not even a roof over head,
not even a good cloth to wear
not even a blanket to cover
not even some food to
feed our starving children
what for, tell us what for?'.
Seemed like poverty
painted on a canvas
in black and white,
'what for we vote?
Roads pot-holed,
acres of pollutants
littered, dumped,
on street sides,
stench, nauseating
forces one to cover the nose
ten to fifteen minutes
bring all candidates
here, force them to be here
let them
enjoy the beauty and
feel the stench for a full day'.
One heard speaking
on passing through,
'let a tsunami come
and wash out all
these candidates
for good'.
Election day.....
'pan the camera'
the panicked reporter
his eyes wide open
unable to believe his own eyes
shouted to
his camera man,
a serpentine queue
'the ones without roofs -
over their heads
the ones with only
a common roof
the sky
the ones who swore
'no vote' in unison
and 'what for?'
stood the reporter
still spell bound.