Private Joke Poem by Daniel Trevelyn Joseph

We get into the lift, Tilaka and I
In our sixties, chatting, arguing,
Doors close, fan is on, we continue
Till after a few moments one sees
No movement of numbers on lighted panel,
Where it remains on 5,
The floor in Jasmine where we live.

Then we laugh, we say
If we don’t press ground,
Naturally we remain suspended
In arguments, the stillness outside
We hang in, and think
It is one kind of meditation.

But today this private joke
Got shared by a cleaner-boy
Who was also with us in the lift,
Solicitously looking after us,
But he too forgot to press zero.

All human beings, young and old,
Move in the same life-lift
And share the joke:
For life is to be seen
As private and public joke,
Leading to sharing of joy.