Ride to town with dreams in eyes...
Ride to town with dreams in eyes
Wandering through Walled City’s busy lanes,
My glance rests on squeezed out stalks of sugarcane.
Flies buzzing over the discarded heap
A glimpse I had of them standing lush in fields.
A young boy asked if I cared for a fresh drink
Cleaned the table and sucked his chapped lips.
He needs it more than me… anaemic, blank eyes
Met mine; he wiped his nose and wanly smiled.
Sun listless, behind a mosque westward bound,
Icy, cross wind from hills, mingled with street sounds.
Vendor added dash of ginger, lime and spice;
It’s good when down with jaundice for appetite.
The boy brought the fresh juice in a Yera glass
With a sprig of mint atop, anything else, he asked.
I recalled how these kids refused all help;
Where was the trust in strange helping hands?
.
A clean mind stained with indelible mud stains
Who left the village and boarded the train.
Destiny mocks, truth stares in face in disdain,
Intense ache dulled by a sniff of cocaine.
It’s not bleak winter that leaves the boy cold.
Sticks to buddies made on railway platform.
Has no faith even in national help line
‘Dial 1098, help will be with you in a short while’.
A crop, boy, vendor, all get ground in mill of life.
Fate more or less decides who gets sweets, who strives.
Its wisewho debate over coffee on nature of truth.
Not homeless kids; it's tattoed on their souls!
India’s first 24 hour Emergency phone outreach service for children in need and care for protection-1098
An excellent poem Mamta, that vividly portrays the wilting dreams of so many youngsters in our country
Vivid description that surrounds the reader, bringing the need and care of forgotten children front and center. Very well done.
this is the real world. nicely written.
Nice work and beautiful verse !
Your heart showing through your eyes, missing nothing...beautiful verse...the boy will not forget you. Dorothy A Poet Who Loves To Sing
A good ride and you have seen the true World
Good write- much serious much matter-of-fact, Mamta