A Rickshaw Puller Poem by Ajit Das

He paddles his designer rickshaw fitted
with three layers of planks and a shade,
ferrying children to their school at dawn
and back home at noon in regular shifts,
taking laborious care to ensure safety
for their childhood, mirthful abundance.

His own two kids with heavy bags of books
on their tiny shoulders walk on foot path,
turning at the crossing, entering a bye lane,
avoiding stray animals to reach the school.
And all the way they have been wondering
what the world would look like from a rickshaw.