Of Everyday little things

a mellow warm

wednesday afternoon

pinpricks of sunlight

glistening over your face

you are serene

warbling to the tunes

of yellow

 

the 12 year unkempt daughter

of reshma-ji who cooks scrumptious food;

who has been working

at your place for

over 14 years in a row now

sits besides you

she is improverished

dressed in that

white frock you so fondly

used to wear

few summers back

now shabby

 

there is sorrow

and despair

written all over her face

you glance at her

rats eyes

she nods hastily

it's a far-fetched yes

of pretentious solace

and disquiet

 

she starts to cry

fumbling with words

and tells you

how her father comes

home everyday

at five in the evening

drunk

and abuses her mother

until neighbors complain

of the wailings

of how she shrieks so

loud

yet they don't hear her

over their tussle

how she wakes up

every morning

to the stench of cigarettes

her brother had

the previous night

 

of how she fumbles

over the f-word

the brawny boys shoutalong the streets

when she is on her way to school

 

of how she eats

stale rotis and onions

every day

because mother is tired

and wasted

from all the hard work

and no love

 

of how her home

reeks of grimy walls

and thatched roofs

made up of mud

and cow-dung which gets

everyday

from the scheming shopkeeper

near the square

who touches her

at places he shouldn't

 

of how she lays

on the hard bed

crying to herself

as her fear grapples

with nightmares

 

and now I know

how she longs

for sunlight

and books and chocolate milk when gazes at me

thoughtfully , everyday.

.