John the Man
- Deep from the Soul -
K. Radhakumar *
Johnny!
Our little Johnny!
Our little Johnny is no little Johnny now.
He is already a man.
John is.
He helps the needy
And is an animal rights activist.
John MA (Oxon).
He is an educated person
And addresses himself
To the problems of youth unemployment
The decadent lifestyle
The standards of morality
Which seem to be dropping day by day.
Ah, the good old days!
John is articulate
And says his Hail Marys.
He knows Joseph, the father of Jesus.
He also knows Mary, the mother of Jesus.
A good friend of the young,
John the man has
The greatest respect for the elders.
In the Slums of Heaven
Latika grows up as a beggar
In the noisy Indian railway station.
She knows no parents
And a roof over her head is a far cry;
She does not even dream of one.
A rags-to-riches story is possible in fiction
But not in reality.
Dressed in rags
She begs day in, day out
For begging is her life.
This she knows for sure
One day she will be known as
Rosy the prostitute.
Till then she begs ...
A handful of rice!
A loaf of bread!
A mouthful of water!
That's all.
I only wish I grew up with her
And become an artist
To champion an art form
Wedded to the beauty of life.
* Poem written by K. Radhakumar which was published at Hueiyen Lanpao (English Edition)
This poem was webcasted on July 03, 2014.
* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.