The Conceited Poet
Rajkumar Panthoiren *
Once I met a man who sold paper flowers.
He writes poems and sings songs.
I smiled at him because he sang like a canary.
He looked up at the sky and asked me to close my eyes.
He kept on singing and he sang about mother, motherland and innocent children.
His voice soared like an eagle
And capture my heart he did
For...
a short little while.
When I had opened my eyes, he was laughing at me.
Why I asked;
He reminded me that I had come to buy his paper flowers.
So, I picked a white one 'cause I needed peace.
I dropped a 5 paisa coin.
And as I was leaving, a thought came to my mind which I spoke:
''Hey paper flower seller, I wanna sing a song for you too.
It's also about mother, motherland and innocent children.''
He nodded.
I started to sing.
I looked at d children who had also come to buy flowers and toys
in exchange of their laughter and smile.
And I kept on singing.
At last, I looked at d paper flower seller hoping to see a smile.
Instead I saw him smile at me with a frown.
He told me: ''Your song is just a crap. Mine is the best that you'll ever find in this land.''
For a second, I thought
And smiled at him with a smile.
I replied: ''It was crap only because you are made of it.''
I turned to walk and before long
there began a shower of rain.
The wet paper flower started to scatter apart.
I left it in the drain
And with a smile, walked back home in the rain with a song.
* Poem written by Rajkumar Panthoiren for e-pao.net
The Poet can be contacted at panthoirk94(at)gmail(dot)com
This poem was webcasted on May 27 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.