An Unclaimed Key Chain Poem by Bashyam Narayanan

An unclaimed key chain

Morning
Office goers
Busy moving
And carefully
Circumventing
A key chain
On the foot path

Seemingly afraid
Of reaching to it,
Leave alone
Of making it
Reach the person
To whom it belongs

I stood there
Watching
As I was waiting
For my bus
Me too, not in a mind
To pick it up

The three keys
On a shining ring
With a metal flat tag
With a figure of
A tiger inscribed

How many times
The keys would have
Opened or locked
The locks

How many times
It would have helped
The owner to check
His or her belongings

How much valuables
It would have
Protected

Now lying uncared for

A man would have
Stepped on it
But suddenly realized
Its presence
And he too cautiously
Avoided the ring

Somehow I mustered
Courage
And reached the
Key chain
With no idea as to
How to make it
Reach the real owner

I too had a plan
To use the ring
If there appears
No claimant
Before I leave the spot
As it was
Clean, attractive
And new

I held it open
To help any one
Searching for it

There was a
Unusual fragrance
Hitting my nostrils
With a sweet voice
A nearing-thirty
Well-made-up woman
Addressing me
Have you seen any
Key chain
I was thrilled
I could be of help to someone
That too a good looking
Woman

Holding the chain
Within my right palm
I looked at her
But, I wanted to be sure
That the chain be given
The right owner

On my queries,
She answered right
With the correct
Description

I handed over the key
With a satisfaction
Of having helped

She would have thought
That I did not hear
But I heard
Her thinking,
Though loud,
“He must be a gentleman
I too was watching
The chain
But wondering
How to pick it up
I was to buy a
Key chain
Right time I got it
From nowhere
Someone’s loss
Someone’s gain
A nice key chain
To hold my house keys”