Who Are You? Poem by Mohammad Younus

Who are you?
Said a rich man from behind his closed gate...
...'Who are you knocking at my door? ',
Visitors unwanted he found...
...gazing through the slit of his gate,
One with begging bowl in his hands;
One with extended hollow hands;
One imploring with folded hands;
Chanting Ram, Ram, Ram,
They sell their empty stomachs;
They sell their naked bodies;
Their mouths full of prayers!
The rich man shouted at them...
...like a hungry wolf;
Go, go, go,
I can't afford to pay you...
...out of my hard earned money;
Don't you know there is...
...lockdown on begging too?
Making a twisted and skewed face...
...he spewed out a big shriek,
'Get away, do your business away from my home';
They were pleased to go,
And try their luck at some other door...
...on this lockdown day,
When they were leaving...
...the rich man spewed filthy words cursing the beggars...
...for transmitting corona virus from house to house,
One of the beggars turned his head around and said:
Although I have nothing, my head is high,
I do beg, but I am rich inside,
I too have self-esteem, dignity and pride,
If you're a rich person, you are poor inside,
You do not have human heart and empathy,
You're rich because you pushed us into poverty,
You took a lot of our blood and sweat to get...
...to where you are today.

Mykoul