In the Park For the past year, under the neem tree in the park He sits from early morning to after dark. This monsoon he turned all of twelve years old; At first, a little scared, but now growing bold; Minding his two year old baby brother All day as his young, widowed mother Cleans and scrubs in others’ homes for their food; Eking out a precarious livelihood. For, if they want the family roof over their head, They need to go out and earn their bread While his three little sisters slave and sweat At home to be part of the family set. All of them taken out of school: Their sharp brains slowly turning to wool. His mother says, Ramu is his name: Called after Lord Rama of stupendous fame. Day after day in the neem’s cool shade, Making friends with all the household servants and maids, He’s learning to lash out, defend and abuse; To pilfer and bully, to give a glib excuse. For the past year Life’s been teaching him A set of lessons both sharp and grim: That there’s no one near or dear enough Who’ll pull with you when the going gets tough; That it’s each for himself: let the most aggressive win, And softness or weakness is the deadliest sin; That rules are for fools when Life is so fraught, And a deed becomes a crime only if one is caught. He’s now a public menace, to his mother’s grief and shock; Fresh offences each day, while the baby runs amok. Today he’s under the neem again, with dislocated jaw, Covered with welts and bruises, as they all beat him raw. For the once-shy Ramu has learnt lessons untold; And today he tried to molest a seven year-old. She screamed loud and long: they all rallied around And in their outrage, began to kick and pound. He sits there glowering, glaring resentfully through his pain As his mother is warned: this shouldn’t happen again. She tries to bring home the enormity of his crime: He says he’ll jolly well make sure he isn’t caught next time. The Ramus in their millions, might be underage in name, But grow fangs before time and are serpents all the same …
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 11:34:05 +0000
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