POEM
He was coming from the south
middle-aged, frail and
tall, clad in a shirt and dhoti.
The angry summer sun was
still venting his fury
on earth.
Tired and exhausted, he was
and on noticing a giant banyan tree
on the street-side
he walked towards it
which could provide shade to anyone
who came under it.
The man sat under the tree
gasping for breathe
after a long tedious walk
lapsed into a sleep.
The sleep went on for almost
three hours which was
more than he anticipated.
I was watching him
coming under the tree,
tired and exhausted
and my compassion drove
me to fill a clay jar with cold water
and walked towards him.
He was so thirsty that he drank the jar full of water
and heaved a sigh of relief.
‘You need more?’ – I asked him.
The response was silence.
From where are you coming
and to where are you aiming to go?’
Silence was the answer
In this age of conveyance
facilities easily available
why did you choose
to walk under the
fire spitting sun bare-footed?
Silence
‘Must be he didn’t
have bus fare’ – I told myself.
what has gone wrong with
this man? – I was asking to myself.
Deaf? dumb?deaf and dumb?
Whatever be the reason
he could have expressed a thankful smile.
He didn’t express even a smile.
He gave the empty jar back
woke up and started
walking to the north.
I watched him walking
with a rejuvenated spirit without looking back
until he melted into the air……
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