The world hurtles on unmindful
Leaving behind those who cannot keep pace
So many are under constant grind
To earn a square meal a day
On deserted streets many roam
Their stomachs empty, their bowels growling
They have nothing to rejoice, only to grieve
For them joy is an unknown flavour
They too are rightful heirs to Nature's bounty
Yet fate decrees for them a dismal course!
They are smothered under poverty's bleak embrace
Over their ashen sky, dark clouds gather round
In dingy make shift dwellings,
Drab lives cram together under tin sheets,
Braving the sun and the inclement weather
Wallowing in dirt and filth with flies for company
They see the stars luminous through cracked roofs
And weave dreams of better times
But soon their dreams go crashing down
Pushing them into a life brutally unfair
The callously unfeeling men strut past them
Deaf to their ballads of sad refrain
Their unheard moans die down
In the alleys where darkness strangulates light!
So many, everywhere exactly as you so graphically yet eloquently described. Small children never making it to their teen years no less adulthood...ravished, and broken from famine, disease and in many cases terrorism. Through precision imagework, you lay the facts out, along with your message to the Reader with captive parlance and Eye-pleasing structural movement...Your close-out is exactly what it should be....POWERFUL....So many people here don't seem to grasp the importance of an impacting close...They either employ one too soon, and place an anti-climax on their work...or they get lost somewhere in what they wanted to do...but lost their train of thought, and thus, a potentially solid piece of work, one that poured on & into their audience...alas ends in a drizzle....Solid Crafting, young lady... ~FjR-'16~
A sad yet commonplace observance. How can anyone live with themselves knowing that they have ten times (and in some cases, millions of times) more than they need while so many have absolutely nothing. In great countries like yours and mine, there is no excuse for such disparity
I had tears even before the last stanza Few will care but you can see it from afar The hearts of many will be touched by this read For your compassion shone in the way you plead
The poor should be cared Wealth should be shared By making others feel loved Our joy will be doubled! Thank you Loke, for your thoughtful poetic response!
You have captured the plight of the underprivileged ones in a very touching manner in this very sensitive poem. I do empathize with each line of it. (10)
They too are rightful heirs to Nature's bounty Nature belongs to everyone not just those who grab it. It must be shared. Thank you for bringing this to attention of everyone.
The last two lines are incredible and very moving and the whole poem is moving. You have a great capacity for precise detail and this enhances the power of the message. On my favourite poems' List without a doubt. Tom Billsborough
Thank you so much Tom.....! I feel so delighted that my poem has gone into your favourite poems list!
A thought-provoking poem with a message for all of us...10 points.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
In the alleys where darkness strangulates light. Superb imagination. Thanks for sharing the beautifully envisioned thought provoking aspect on the slums portrayed in a ballad of the slums.10 points.