A Poet And A Miner Poem by BASAB CHAUDHURI

Once a poet met a miner -
They had a cup of tea together
at a roadside stall and conversed.
'What do you do? ' - asked the poet.
The miner said,
'Extract metals from underground.
A tough job.
But metals are valuable.'
'And you? ' - asked the miner.
'Extract beauty from all around.
Not much use.
But valuable to me like air and water.'

The miner said,
'Produce. Don't waste time.'

The poet smiled and thought:

'All he did was wasting time,
Without reason, but for a rhyme,
The bell rings, run for time
What he loves is the chime.'