A PROUD HEART

The owl perches upon the sparrow’s branch
Dusk accepts the flame from eve
The moon mocks at the retreating sun
And i crawl along the muddy road
Weighed by a baggage
And bowed by time
The wind is my comrade
My rags invites him
To soothe me with his ruffling breath
I love him dearly, still
I try to shut him out
With my sneering blanket
For i cant bear his parting
Which leaves me coughing
And cold and freezing...

In the distance, i saw
Sneering in the smoke
A well fed rose
A ray of hope
Silhouetting against
A wealthy bungalow
I shuffled my boots along
And knocked on the door
My parched knuckles contrasting
With the polished brass knob
In there, there might be
A loving widow, whose wealthy husband
Left her a fortune..
She’ll give me coffee and fresh baked cakes
A place to wash and a cot to sleep
And thoughts to nourish, and memories to cherish.
In the morn, i should thank her though
And gift her my treasured souvenir
Give her a parting kiss to return
Since few are kind in this drowning world..

The door opened just enough
To let a peeping eye be seen
Shadowed eyes glanced at me
And without a second thought,
The heavy door closed before me.

I tried again with a shimmering hope
She was, perhaps, in a rotten mood
And maybe had time to think again

This time it opened well enough
To let a stuffy lady to be seen
Straight away she hurled her tongue
“Why can’t you work?
The world is vast
And you are a man”
I stared at her
And bent my brows
“I would have,
If i had my legs”
Her gaze went down
To lock at my feet
Boot clamped in a long pole
And gave a silent shudder.

“I fired my shots
And heard the cries
Killed my brothers
For you to live
Amidst the skulls
I slept my nights
For you to sleep
In your cozy beds
I burnt my dreams
Of a family to care
For you to live
With your pride and creed
I gave my leg
To the enemy’s greed
I gave my life
For the soil i loved”
And wept a hesitant tear forgetting
That soldiers were made not to weep.

Assured enough, she went inside
To take a pitying penny or two

I turned my back
Retraced my steps
With brimming eyes
And lost hopes
But with a proud heart
And words echoing my soul
“That the world is vast
And i’m a man”

(An ex-soldier’s lamentation. He lost his leg at the battlefield and at present, has to beg for a living. It depicts the humiliations that he has to face after all he has done for this big bad world)