Today I saw a shooting star,
I then closed my eyes to ask a wish for me,
My mind started contemplating,
& was thinking of asking property and lots of money.
Oodles of thoughts surrounded me,
Then various reminiscences sailed in to my mind,
Memories of few scenes I had seen long time ago,
The scenes were very special ones and of its own kind.
How a handicapped man was crawling & begging at signals,
& how poverty was transforming small children into criminals,
Hungry kids staring at food with watered eyes,
While they were washing dishes in a hotel premise.
I remember how a blind girl was trying to feel the ambiance,
How just by touching things she was developing the credence,
How in an ICU a son was smiling to hide his agony,
But somewhere from a corner of his eyes tears were narrating the story.
How daily vendors strive hard for life,
But then also it becomes immense hard to survive
Shoe polishing by children at corner of street,
And selling water in hot afternoon, bearing all heat.
Plethora of memories, requesting eyes & loud screams,
They all made me forget my wishes and dreams,
The beseeching demand of a happy survival,
And I was perplexed how a human is human’s own rival.
Instead of asking for money & luxury, I demanded strength,
Strength of wiping one’s tears and to mitigate one’s fear,
Strength of amplifying one’s joy and to alleviate one’s woe,
And I asked for strength of becoming a poor one’s strength.