What Pappu Saw? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Poem by Mahfooz Ali

At Mass, young Pappu and his parents,
Richly attired, and among elite,
Were seated in reserved pews near the altar,
While some of his father's workers stood at the rear.

Pappu recalled what he had recently seen
In his father's underground work-site of tanneries.
Workers, children, men and women from ten to sixty
Slaving in conditions of medieval bondage.

Many sickly, others feeble, one blind, a few near death,
Most toiling, all oppressed, with even an infant present.
In the work chamber, filled with steam and dye fumes,
Expendable humans, suffering without hope.

Pappu then noticed the face of the rich crucifix,
Its face grotesque, its eyes villainous.
Grasping to remove his constrictive head cover,
And moaning, 'No! No, no, ' he fled the scene.