Span Poem by Hans Raj Sharma

After math
After sixty four
Born
A rural
Background
Hardly
You believe
Used to
Play naked
With mud
No toys
Up to four
And
Used to take
Cattle mixed
Some buffalos
Cows both
He and she
Herd of goats
And sheep
For grazing all
To the meadows
Near and far
Up to eight
Along with
My uncle
Physically stout
Pure illiterate
Rustic villager
Chum of mine
A great

In the evening
Return
Home late
Usually
With a bulky
Pack
Of firewood

Started schooling
At about eight
With no
Hurry-worry
Or haste
Barefoot
Dressed in
‘Khadi'
Finished education
From government
Institutes
As in vogue

Worked
As teacher
With a zeal
Seen great
Ups and downs
With a feel
And life
Full of storms
Shattered
And torn
Lately
Plunged into
Advocacy
A profession
With different
Norms

Thanks God!
I'm still alive
And reached
The day today
My birthday.

-Copy right hrsharma
Ludhiana, Punjab, India