Wednesday 13 January 2016

Food



Sourced from Google




I remember it was a week day
Boarding the bus on a busy road
Was suddenly accosted by this
Vagabond of a man 
Not exactly in tatters, for sure
But had a glassy look about him
Rumpled hair and dry mouth
Reddish in colour, quaint manners...

I shrank as he extended 
A dirt striped hand
And mumbled something like
"Didi! give me a tenner please
Haven't eaten a morsel 
Whole day long"

Spontaneity had the better of me
As I handed him the note
He vamoosed as though he was never there!

The man next to me grinned derisively
"Made a fool of you! He's a dopey... you see"

We share the day with each other
And everyday invariably 
They leave the table littered with 
Sparsely eaten plates 
I tell them, "Its a waste! 
Recall those who do not have enough
Children of forgetful Gods..
They belong to this Earth
As you and I do"

They have stopped sharing the table with me
And call me names
Behind my back, of course!
I overheard one of them, the other day...

I shun them as well

It doesn't hurt anymore
The feeling is mutual 
As usual...


Note : "Didi" is an address for elder sister

This poem is shared with Poets United's Weekly Motif Food


Sourced from Google


30 comments:

  1. Well, I think the narrator is generous to have given generously, and to think of the hungry while others are wasting food. I really enjoyed this poem.

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  2. Perfect narrative, showing layers and layers of human types, some even inhuman!

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  3. That is quite a tale really. But I would like to understand its meaning. I understand the first four stanzas, but the last four stanzas confuse me, admittedly. Who stopped sharing the table with you? I don't understand that. And I don't understand why they would call you names. I am missing something important, but I do want to understand!

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    1. Mary there are people who don't wish to be told they are wrong. In return, they get angry and take recourse to jeers and sniggers. Its sad and strange but it is true.

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  4. The food wasted in some places versus the starving communities in others... it ought to be a simple choice you'd think.

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    1. Yes, but it is not.....I understand what you want to say

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  5. I loved reading this one... thanks for sharing... :-)

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  6. Better to give food than money.

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  7. I like your choosing to write on something like this. It may seem trivial to some, but this topic commands a high respect in my mind.

    Appreciate your taking a stand in the face of stupid ridicule.

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  8. Great thought wonderfully expressed!

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  9. nicely poem vanderloost
    its make me good feeling
    Weldon
    good luck!

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  10. I also think that food wastage is a crime...I like the story-line revealing different characters...

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  11. I think we can all be fooled - perhaps it is the sign of a warm and generous heart..we live and learn i suppose each and every day

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  12. They say not to encourage beggars by giving them money. Seriously, I am not sure where I stand in that debate. It is a pity that such a circumstance exist in this country in the first place. People who say this should first make sure that they do something about it rather than shunning them outrightly. The message is put across so strikingly in your lines.

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    1. Whether you are a beggar or a bourgeois, mockery of food is not acceptable.

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  13. Well-penned, I'd rather be made a fool a few times by giving money to some con men, rather than let a genuinely poor person starve...

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    1. Yes, I appreciate your sentiments Nicholas. Thanks for being on this post

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