Under the dim light of a kerosene lamp,
A girl is studying for exams next day.
Rain is pouring heavily on the thatched roof,
The drenched shanty is shivering out of cold.
The turbulent river is roaring near the house,
Strange insects are buzzing in languages unknown.
Her four year old sister,hungry,is crying for food.
Her little brother is fast asleep,his belly unfilled.
Her drunk father is grumbling and craving for more toddy.
Her mother is on bed,burning with fever.
She is sitting on a soiled carpet, wettened-
by rain dropping through the leaks on the roof.
She is wearing an ancient frock,torn and dirty,
which she had outgrown long long back.
Shaken by rain,hurt by hunger,weakened by misery,
There she sits,defeated,on a dirty carpet.
Under the dim light of a kerosene lamp,
The girl is studying for exams next day.Labels: girl, poems