The Tales of Tears

The Tales of Tears

P K Routray

“Mummy mummy, a candy for me,

children there holding them you see.

The boy wearing red jean was yesterday there,

today also he is jumping with candy, so also the girl with curly hair.

Daily you tell tomorrow and tomorrow for me

give me today or else I shall not listen to any of your plea.”

Thus telling the girl rolled on the ground with loud cry and tear,

all promises and coaxing by the  mother failed her to cheer

The lady in a torn cloth, perhaps working to assist in house hold chores

counted her money twined in her waist cloth to see whiter she could afford.

Perhaps it was not sufficient for her family to have a square meal over dinner,

she thrashed the girl with cruel slap and dragged the girl crying bitter.

Tears were flowing from the eyes of the girl and also from the mother

tears came to my eyes observing the episode from a distance as a mute observer.

Same tears in the eyes of the kid, the mother and the onlooker

had stings from varied emotional turmoil of misery, sympathy, helplessness and anger.