What an ugly and a poor face, but Those Eyes!

What an ugly and a poor face, but Those Eyes!

Today I left my comfort vehicle for servicing and took the rickshaw as I return.

It was a packed one; an ugly dark quinquagenarian sitting at the rear, left his seat for me.

He must have realized that I would be aversive towards his ugly and smelly look.

And so would he be not used to someone as clean and fresh as me sitting right beside him.

I kept looking at his dark and worn out skin all through the short distance till I reach home.

As he uncomfortably sit at the front, he shamed me with his generosity.

He looks like an ugly swine, which I am at heart, but he showed me the richness of his heart.

I kept pondering; isn’t there any redemption for these miserables, would they always be the same.

I turned to look at my skin; it’s so smooth, clean and felt so handsome in contrast to that ugly man.

I now felt like a swine; the tone of my skin all because of the fats that I earned over these years of merriment,

By attending and eating at birthday and bachelor parties, anniversaries and the list goes on.

I looked back at him, asked myself; would he always remain so ugly and different from us and could we never be the same.

Midway he got down, holding a metal bowl, in the midst of a busy and passing crowd.

It was a day of festivity for us all and for sure his look didn’t show that he came out for that.

His wife too was along, holding a shovel, complemented him with what he was holding, his metal bowl.

She too looked deplorable and uglier but their apathetic look made them a great pair.

He left; but made an eye to eye with me twice; must have observed that all along I was looking at his ugliness.

But I felt that he looked at me since no one even makes an eye to eye with them, because of their ill-gotten face.

It was as good as the yearning look, cannot name her, that She gave and mesmerized me in my youth.

I kept looking at him as I see him go, and ask myself; would they always be the same?

Rest of my journey I kept thinking; even the idea of God makes no difference to these souls.

Do they not have to struggle and every moment cope up with their deplorable existence?

Wish he had known that he is so rich; has so immensely inspired a poet who was sitting right behind him.

Oh God! Let me be born like him, but for sure as a poet too; only then I could so well glorify my poverty.

Inspiration:

13-Sep-2018:

Today is Ganesh festival. I was returning by an auto after dropping my scotty for servicing. In the auto there was a manual labor sitting at the rear seat. I kept wondering would they always remain the same.