Poverty's Child Poem by Rigzin Namgyal

the last
hundred rupees
has been withdrawn
suddenly
everything turns
cold and numb
like death! !
misery
like a gangrene
ripples into my
blood
bones
and maybe my skin too! !
ambushed
bruised and defeated
wearing the carcass
of penury
i run from everyone! !
cousins
acquaintances
neighbours
shopkeepers
the newspaper vendor
the cable guy
and my weather friends! !
buried in my cocoon
i go to
the darkness of my room
where hunger is my only friend
the smiling cup of tea
my only solace! !
battling monsters
in this dark obscurity
' now ' after ages
i dust the cobwebs
of my mind
as i try to write
about
this cursed
and damned
poverty's child! !
even this borrowed bidi
has now started
showing tantrums
it refuses to light
this flesh is really sad
but i laugh :):)
as i rot
and burn
in this fire
of
poverty

:rupee is an Indian currency
bidi known as poor man's cigarette is an Indian cigarette wrapped in a tendu