Children Today Poem by Anil Kumar Panda

I watch the old man eating in a cozy corner
In the restaurant with his trembling hands
With no one around to help him to eat or pour
Him a glass of water, no relatives and friends

I guess his wife is gone and he has no kids
To help him or take his care in the old age
I gather courage and ask him about his life
He looks at me with dimming eyes unfazed

He tells me about his hard life and struggles
To educate his children he fought many wars
Like hunger, bad health and misery but leaving
Parents alone they are gone to earn dollars

He lost his wife to cancer and children did
Not have time to come and take their care
All are married and settled in foreign lands
He is alone waiting helplessly his last hour