Tuesday 27 May 2008

THE APPLE CART

The cart was filled with sweet apples
But the sweetness couldn’t be seen in its color
Apples were dull,
not bright red
but pale yellowish

The vendor was worried
Who will buy his apples…?
Apples that didn’t shine ……those were not bright red

A little boy with shabby clothes
With a stick that moved meticulously,
the rim of a cycle tyre,
stopped by the apple cart

He was hungry
Took an apple in his hand &
“Can I buy this apple sir?”
The apple seemed to smile in his hand

How much will u pay?
I have just Rs. 2 sir
Said the little boy

Hahaha…
Laughed the vendor
“I am selling apples dear boy…
….Not guavas
An apple for Rs. 2!!!! Ha….ha…ha…”
He snatched the apple from the
Little boys’ hand
The apple writhed in pain

The boy tried hard to stop his tears
Clutching his cycle tyre & the stick
He ran away from there

No one bought the apples,
Apples that didn’t shine,
That were not bright red,

The vendor took out his scarf,
Started rubbing apples… each one of them…
With a speed that defied time,
Apples writhed in pain under his vigor
Then, took out a bunch of stickers
from his dirty shirt pocket,
started pasting it on apples…..all of them

One by one he arranged them
In a perfect sequence,
sequence that turned heads,
caught eyes & stopped speeding cars.

Apples shone,
bright red,
labeled,
but…. withered inside
withered…..being rubbed by the vendor,
withered…..being stamped with labels,
withered….being unable to satiate a little boys hunger,

But the vendor laughed……..
Laughed at the thought
……of his moneybox being filled to the brim.