An old man by the roadside



















By the roadside,
Where the hawker sells his wares
And the lazy roam without any care.
Especially on the dusty afternoons
Where the wild flowers bloom
With hasty abandon
Under the harsh sun,
Sits an old man, who abides,
For his son to come.
He would tell his story,
If you just listen.
With tears that glisten,
He would tell you of past glory
Would you listen ?

Prompted at : OSI

10 visitors stopped by.:



SandyCarlson said...

I would, indeed.

floreta said...

oh there's a touch of sadness in this.. i would listen too.

Bruce Miller said...

The old man from Pune
or
Ten Days in a Molasses Spring
as told by Lewis Carroll's Bellman after reading Kipling

By, but not near, the roadside of Pune
Where the palmers do buy their fronds,
The lazy sojers shout a-bak ole buffoon!
Hi! look uterali! - but he never responds

He abides and abides and mumbles his bun
In his age-clouded eye pools a tear
His sira is seared in the sun
And it's gray - oh so gray - from many a wearisome year.

The ajlaf all tell how he fell from his post
From the glory of serving the Raj
No more can he strut, no more can he boast:
Carting slops from the officers' lodge.

Photo source:
An old man sits on a roadside pavement in the western Indian city of Pune
copyright August 21, 2007.
REUTERS photographer Punit Paranjpe
All Rights Reserved

zoya gautam said...

..got to stop & listen "Where the wild flowers bloom"_

many thanks for sharing this..

Anonymous said...

beautiful lines !!

Raven said...

Powerful question. I like to think I would. I hope so. Lovely poem.

Tammie Lee said...

Your words take me into a different world. Yes I would listen.

Amias (ljm and liquidplastic) said...

I would stop and listen too. Thanks.

Nave said...

:)

Tulika Verma said...

Lovely. And the picture! It complements the poem so well!