The man now old
He’s worked hard
All his life
————
To feed
To shelter
To clothe
To travel
To enjoy
Little pleasures
————–
A wife
A child or two
A TV
A refrigerator
A House
A car
He’s made it
————–
His wife
His partner
His soulmate
Sometimes they quarrel
That’s part of the game
They make up
One again
His wife
His partner
His soulmate
Sometimes they quarrel
That’s part of the game
They make up
One again
—————
The children grow
The children grow
They’re educated
An engineer
An MBA
They want to fly
Like their peers
They find their work
In foreign lands
————–
They find their parters
And they settle
In foreign lands
In some other part
Of the globe
And they settle
In foreign lands
In some other part
Of the globe
————-
They do visit
But must go back
They take him there
And his wife
To their foreign land
But it’s not his life
They must return
————
His wife
His companion
His partner
His soulmate
Whose never
Left his side
His wife
His companion
His partner
His soulmate
Whose never
Left his side
—————
Except twice
When his grandchildren
We’re born
Then she’d gone
To those foreign lands
To help her kids
Raise their children
Except twice
When his grandchildren
We’re born
Then she’d gone
To those foreign lands
To help her kids
Raise their children
—————-/
Married
To his house
Is she
Now she’s old too
To his house
Is she
Now she’s old too
————–
One day collapsed
In the foreign land
Where she’d gone
To help raise
Her grandchild
One day collapsed
In the foreign land
Where she’d gone
To help raise
Her grandchild
—————–
I’m not coming
I’m not coming
He had said
I prefer
My own bed
I prefer
My own bed
————–
She died
It was all over
In a couple of hours
The funeral
It was all over
In a couple of hours
The funeral
He’s back home
————-
His health is failing
Medical bills
The maid
The nurse
The doctor
To be paid
—————-
Medical bills
The maid
The nurse
The doctor
To be paid
—————-
Loneliness calls
He’s healthy still
To go to church
To find peace
To find friends
—————-
The cook is on leave
There’s no food
The tiffin arrives
It’s cheap
It’s dependable
—————-
The teeth they fall
Dentures arrive
The food now soft
So can be chewed
The cough
The diabetes
The pressure
Is worsening
Is worsening
Now insulin
Has it’s say
He needs a prick
Once a day
———–
———–
The rare day comes
Once in a while
When kind souls
Pay a visit
————
His old tales
They hear
With interest
And with patience
A light
In the dark are they
Those kind souls
Who by his house
They stray
————–
He counts his pennies
He haggles
With the paperwala
Who recycles
With the laundryman
Who irons
His Sunday clothes
With the fruitwala
Who supplies
His bananas
And apples
————–
He has enough
He’s insecure
The medical bills
They’re going up
What if there’s
A hospitalisation
He has enough
He’s insecure
The medical bills
They’re going up
What if there’s
A hospitalisation
—————–
The maid
Wants a raise
No he says
I can’t afford
The maid
Wants a raise
No he says
I can’t afford
————-
He’s not the same
He was before
A generous soul
Now that
He’s not the same
He was before
A generous soul
Now that
He’s retired
————
He still manages
To go to the banks
————-
Different ones
His money is not
In one place
His money is not
In one place
————
It’s not for
The statement
All is now
Online
But he prefers
The old way
So he can speak
To the lady
At the desk
The cashier
The neighbour
Who is
Also at the bank
————–
He now has
A walking stick
His knees grumble
When climbing stairs
But no he says
I’m not coming
To your foreign Land
————
Here I lived
And here shall I die
This house I made
With sweat and tears
It may be old
But it is mine
————–
There is talk
A swank new tower
With a lift
A couple of years
And it is yours
————–
They haggle
They bargain
I should get
Double the room
Says one
I want the tenth floor
Says another
Mine should face west
Says the third
I only want
The best builder
Says the fourth
I won’t move
Says the fifth
Our building is still strong
Say the sixth
We can not trust
Say some others
and so it goes
On and on
————–_
Nothing moves
No one bothered
Not our business
They all say
We are all
Good people
No one bothered
Not our business
They all say
We are all
Good people
————-
Not our business
To intervene
Years drag on
The buildings disintegrate
Not our business
To intervene
Years drag on
The buildings disintegrate
—————
The repairs
Cost a ton
But in five years
The cracks are back
With a vengeance
Cost a ton
But in five years
The cracks are back
With a vengeance
—————-
The building crumbles
The old man stumbles
He slips
In the bathroom
Like so many others
————–
————–
The nurses come
Like clockwork
Many a time
They hear his cry
———–
They feed
They clothe
They wash
They clean
The children visit
Then they’re gone
———-—–
Those kind souls
Come more often
Bringing him
The Eucharist
————–
They hear him out
They give him hope
They listen to his story
————-
Things get worse
He’s hospitalised
The stretcher carrying
Him down the stairs
————–
They prick they probe
They jab
The beeping
In the ICU
Driving him mad
————-
This is not my home he says
All I want is to go back
————
The kind souls
They come there too
They hold his hands
In silent prayer
The priest
The Annointing
The Eucharist
———
Then he’s gone
In peace at last
————
They carry him
Straight to the morgue
His body frozen
For his children
To come
From foreign lands
———–
Up his house
One more time
One more time
The house he’s made
————-
Now at last
His house is full
Now at last
His house is full
His children
His grandchildren
His friends
His children’s friends
His neighbours
His neighbour’s children
His relatives
His co-workers
————–
Those who’ve survived
Those that can
Leave their houses
His nurses too
————
And then there are
Those kind souls
Who laboured up
Those stairs
————-
To be with him
To listen
To give him
The Eucharist
The church pamphlets
The calander
To give him joy
————-/
He didn’t have
A major vice
Did no harm
To anyone
————-/
He didn’t have
A major vice
Did no harm
To anyone
Never did
He raise his voice
He never missed
His church contribution
He’d attend all
The society meetings
Meekly sat
And got back home
Never spoke up
He raise his voice
He never missed
His church contribution
He’d attend all
The society meetings
Meekly sat
And got back home
Never spoke up
————-
Others will
He said
I’m not the one
To create trouble
Others will
He said
I’m not the one
To create trouble
————
The building new
Will go up
When God wants it to
The building new
Will go up
When God wants it to
————–
Never gave alms
Never gave alms
To a beggar
All fakes they are
He said
God will
All fakes they are
He said
God will
Take care of them
————–
They maim the kids
To make them beg
He saw the drunk
He saw the drunk
On the street
The municipality will
Take care of him
God will
The municipality will
Take care of him
God will
Take care of them
————
The eunuchs
They pester
Better not to
Entertain them
God will
They pester
Better not to
Entertain them
God will
Take care of them
—————The orphaned children
Theirs palms open
Their sorrowful eyes
In the heatOf the sun—————
Some kind soul
Will take them
To Mother Theresa’s
God will
Theirs palms open
Their sorrowful eyes
In the heatOf the sun—————
Some kind soul
Will take them
To Mother Theresa’s
God will
Take care of them
———–
The floods
The famine
The earthquakes
He would give
His widower’s mite
A fifty
Or a hundred
God will
Take care of them
————–
He went to church
Every Sunday
Or Saturday evening
His religious obligation
Fulfiled
Don’t want to get
Into controversy
No involvement
With the community
————-
A good husband
A good father
A good neighbour
A God fearing man
A good Catholic
————-
It’s time now
For his body
To be taken
To the church
————-
The final descent
Down the stairs
From the house
That he made
—————–
To find lasting peace
And joy
A life well lived
And joy
A life well lived
God will
Take care of him
