Slightly chipped, colours almost gone
That's how the stones in the sidewalk are
Third from the left, colour muddy brown
Has a dirty crack, much like a scar
--
Ten steps down, one stone displaced
Has an ant abode, ants scurrying fast
This is a fairly new one, ants and all
I think, it appeared, the year before last
--
Just round the corner, if I may add
One stone preserved, no wear and tear
Almost as if, never stepped on to
I've seen it always, sitting right there
--
Ask me the way, to the small shop
And I can tell it, crack by crack
For, sidewalks are really all that I see
Day after day, just to keep track
--
Just once in a while, I lifted my head
To see what all went on, high up there
Eyes were all I saw, staring unblinking
Scanning me all over, like a market ware
--
I lowered my head, vowing to keep it there
For I was taught, that's how men are
Back I am to cracks, in the sidewalks
The world up there, way too bizarre........
--
A poem that stemmed from what I was taught in my growing up years - lie low, don't draw attention to yourself, walk with your head bowed.............this will save you from eve-teasing. Almost as if eve-teasing was the norm, and I had to abide by it. As I revisit those "wise words", I wonder if things have changed! Have they?
- Pritesh
That's how the stones in the sidewalk are
Third from the left, colour muddy brown
Has a dirty crack, much like a scar
--
Ten steps down, one stone displaced
Has an ant abode, ants scurrying fast
This is a fairly new one, ants and all
I think, it appeared, the year before last
--
Just round the corner, if I may add
One stone preserved, no wear and tear
Almost as if, never stepped on to
I've seen it always, sitting right there
--
Ask me the way, to the small shop
And I can tell it, crack by crack
For, sidewalks are really all that I see
Day after day, just to keep track
--
Just once in a while, I lifted my head
To see what all went on, high up there
Eyes were all I saw, staring unblinking
Scanning me all over, like a market ware
--
I lowered my head, vowing to keep it there
For I was taught, that's how men are
Back I am to cracks, in the sidewalks
The world up there, way too bizarre........
--
A poem that stemmed from what I was taught in my growing up years - lie low, don't draw attention to yourself, walk with your head bowed.............this will save you from eve-teasing. Almost as if eve-teasing was the norm, and I had to abide by it. As I revisit those "wise words", I wonder if things have changed! Have they?
- Pritesh
