Hawker by the Street
Surendranath Sharma Laimayum *
A space she steals by a busy lane,
Her greens spread on a plastic leaf,
Tufts and bunches neatly tied,
In the bazaar of Imphal Town.
Defying the surly sun and rain,
Hawker's call she must train,
Hither and thither she must shift,
She is a hawker by the street.
When niggling cops hurriedly chase,
Her treasure in basket hides,
Tightly she clasps her little wares,
While she scampers into the dark alleys.
Her face is obscure in the dimming light,
Her lamp is waning like the aging night,
She counts the proceeds with grimace tense,
For she must take home her children's needs.
But they wait with hunger pangs;
Ere the children's pesky wails,
Who will forgo the evening's food?
She must starve so their bellies are full.
She strives that her children must gain,
Light of knowledge she couldn't get,
Pain is sweetened by numbing dream,
Her plight today shall deliverance bring.
Pain of penury and hurt of spite
Between her jaws she would gnash;
She in hope seeks to break
The bleak future of her brood.
Weak and frail she may look,
Grit and courage she doesn't lack,
Lofty ideals she doesn't forfeit,
That's a Meitei woman's feat.
* Poem written by Surendranath Sharma Laimayum which was published at Hueiyen Lanpao (English Edition)
This poem was webcasted on September 18 2013.
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