REBORN

 REBORN

  

The day I was a witness, observed,

Imprinted in my heart is a tragic event,

Brokenhearted, I couldn't withstand,

A young girl in our neighborhood,

Deceived by her lover, fled from a locality,

Pregnant, she was condemned by the public,

Females were beating her mercilessly,

Scolding, addressing, lowly character,

Her mother was slapping her own forehead,

Scornful, men were looking angry,

Her father was sitting on the road,

Holding his head, looked down,

I wondered if he was crying in shame,

She was thrown out of her home,

She sat under a nearby tree,

Next dawn, she vanished totally,

No one could see her in the town,

I remember that evening starkly,

The event churned my heart,

A young girl, pregnant, is missing,

No one is concerned about her,

Her parents tried to forget her,

She was the point of gossip, nasty,

Even young women criticized her,

Elderly persons called her a prostitute,

The topic came to my home, heard,

My wife and daughter were commenting,

Felt extremely bad for society, then,

What should we teach my daughter,

Never love a young man in life,

In a split second, I knew paralyzing,

Tell daughter to keep disciplined,

Truth, humanity faced, a reality,

Unwanted pregnancy, killing fetus,

To save dignity from a failed marriage,

Murder a life in the womb innocent,

I dignified the girl in my heart,

A mother in the future protects her child,

Betrayed her lover, her cruel life revealed,

The soul of an unfortunate girl loved,

Trusted a human, I contemplated,

Who exhibits love and care, cheated,

We loved university campus girls,

Dared to express a loving heart, knew,

Many friends stamped their affairs,

To love-marriage resulted in a relationship,

How many boys had gone to prison,

Tell my turbulent thoughts, so natural,

Simple a Youngman loves a girl,

Naturally, human nature exhibits,

A thousand Novels the motion picture,

Applauded by viewers, a box office,

The man, who made his girl pregnant,

Fled, the cowardly act, a serious crime,

He gets married, gets prestige a lot of,

The hypocrisy of civil society is bare,

A shelter home philanthropic helped,

Funded by my capability to search,

They found her begging and admitted her,

Took care of the baby and the mother,

A year after, I visited her, enquired,

How are you feeling, dear child?

Her answer was crisp and touching,

Reborn, sir, I never believed.

 

@ Bijayananda Mishra