Unprotected
Dr. Nunglekpam Premi Devi *
That's very unusual; I never thought it would happen;
That incident, perhaps wasn't a mistake, still have to;
Dirty and dusty day it was; hot and weary unplanned;
There wasn't any I could go getting, still this dump one
Secluded and scary; I waited till crowd comes up gathering;
What on the earth! That's the only place I could visit
Far and narrow, unearth and uneven littering all over;
Dark and thick; those streaming waters running actively;
Oh! That smelling gutter, still I can't take my nose uncovered;
I tried and I tried habituating, I still being an alien
To that far off land, to that piece of area I put up.
Hot streaming waves after waves, blows the wind;
Those slum dwellers' souls, how practically brave! If I could say
Dirty hairy and unwashed, tinted teeth adoring those charitable smiles;
Damp and un cleaned, with those feeble and failing torn sandals;
Sitting over those smelling gutters, selling fishes for the day;
When in 5 o'clock evening, riches hands reached out buying out all;
Cars and scooters, rickshaws and motors, bicycles and paddlers;
Ah! Can't take off my eyes seeing those rotten bodies;
Crows and stray dogs swamping over and around actively;
Scattering all over places, each one has to pass through those;
Still dirty and dusty, torn clothes pieces flying in and out,
To that far off land, to that piece of area I put up.
Gentle Crowds gathered, clean shaven and clean clothe;
Sobering around, oh! What an air? Justifying and confirming;
Those senses, those ethics, those living and those priorities;
Standing by those stalls, I tried peeking through them;
I looked as I follow after my 'man' one stall after another;
Choosing and picking, pleasing and electing, selecting and preferring;
Calculating over and pricing; standing tall by those stall,
Comforting safety, I tried never to rush into dashing;
Sensing around what may happen, I observe some still unaware;
That hard 'thing' lingering and nagging around tightly;
'Up and down' it scratched harassing my possessing 'thigh',
What on earth! I could perceived that emotions sooner;
To that far off land, to that piece of area I put up.
Grasping those rhythms, I threw eyes discerning;
Half wide open chain, he was fleshly naked;
Quivering he was forsaken, Shivering as he leave;
"If you're willing, show your thing to everyone" I shouted
"Stop running! If you're ready, let everyone sees you" I yelled
Quicker the moment, 'he' instilled uneasy and sickening;
I throw up sentiments, thousands easing and unguarded;
"What happened'? He asked cleanly
Unnoticed by my 'man', unexpectedly and unattended awhile;
That was too unprotected for those securing moments;
That was too unprotected for those covered parts;
To that far off land, to that piece of area I put up.
* Poem written by Dr. Nunglekpam Premi Devi for Imphal Times
The writer is an Independent Scholar
This poem was webcasted on May 29 2018.
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