WALKING STICK
Lonely
road evening is silent,
Semi-dark
lane narrow in the front,
Windows
of houses lighted screened,
Doors
closed, balcony lighted,
No
sign of children, busy life,
Life
reties after time hectic, job,
A
tired human settles on a sofa, hot tea,
Wife
busy preparing for dinner,
School-going
children studying,
Siblings
in college, absent at home,
An
aged man walks down the road,
Stealing
a glance through windows,
He
enters his home double-storied,
The
dark front door he unlocked,
Switched
light on the front balcony,
Entered
his home, lighted rooms,
Lone
in the world children at far,
The
wife with her son sick gets treated,
Prepared
a cup of tea, reclined on a chair,
The
walking stick inclined to the chair,
Cooling
over the plate, he sips tea,
Looked
at his walking stick and thought,
Once
he trotted over the globe young,
Never
he thought, a day will visit him,
A
walking stick only supports walking,
Prevents
him from falling down,
How
essential in life surprising kit,
He
roasted bread in an electric roaster,
Fried
cabbage, vegetables on a stove,
Add
spices, chili, and tomato sauce,
His
dinner plate got ready quickly,
Drawing
room polished, he lighted,
Incline
to the sofa to watch television,
When
sleep encroached not known,
It
was midnight got awake hungry,
Brought
dining plate to a sofa relished,
He
is crying, did not know tears trickle,
Once
the home was noisy, now silent,
His
busy life got sleepy how soon,
Birds
from the nest fled wings spread,
Not
required to beg for a living,
Retired
for years, no salary bill,
No
bonus, incentive, extra money,
The
pension from government arrives,
Deposited
in bank monthly handsome,
The only source of sustenance for him,
Never
he asked children for money monthly,
He
buys his medicine preventive a cost,
Pays
his electric telephone bill monthly,
Annual
House tax, water bill, income tax,
Walking
stick only means to visit,
Clears
all the payments to buy groceries,
He
was looking at the walking stick,
How
similar the pension performs,
Surprise
assured pension life in age,
A
walking stick for passing old age,
Essential
for men aged as a pensioner,
Not
that lucky most aged people,
Pension
missing lost the walking stick,
Falling
every now n then immobile,
The
man caresses his walking stick,
Deposited
pension monthly, till death,
Essential
for his survival, he realized.
@
Bijayananda Mishra
