Nabasri Chakrabarty Biswas II The writer

 

The Sweeper

Nabasri Chakrabarty Biswas

 

It was a sunny day,

I sat on a bench under the shed of a railway station,

The wind was blowing gently

I felt extremely satisfied....

 

I felt hungry, sleepy too,

My footsteps weren't moving.

I ordered breakfast from my seat,

The shopkeeper served my order…

 

Some young boys were working there

Over the railway line by the station...

They were dressed in dirty clothes,

I have kept them under observation…

 

They were sweeping on the railway lines,

They were muttering, which I didn't hear...

Their smiles hid endless pains,

What educated people cannot bear...

 

Their brows were covered with dust

Their little hands were rough, unclean

I approached them hesitantly.

They smiled and hid their tears…

 

I went to give them food,

But they refused to take them,

"We are not beggars", they said out loud,

And I was quietly ashamed.

 

"We are sweepers like our parents,

We clean the roads and your toilets",

Said a little boy among them,

"We work to eat, we don’t beg or steal"...

 

I quietly left the place,

But their words resonated in my heart...

They are never impure,

They clean the society...

 

Their words inspired me and that forced me to think,

No life is meaningless,

Society considers them unclean,

But they are pure as the water of Ganges...

About the Author: The poet is a scholar who Schooled at Krishnanagar, Nadia District, West Bengal, India. Graduated in Sanskrit from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata and obtained a master's degree in the same subject from the same university. Graduated in English from Indira Gandhi Open University, Kolkata, and awaiting a Master's Degree in English from the same institution (Final Examination Completed). Apart from this, Nabasri, is currently a postgraduate student in history. A homemaker and a blogger Nabasri is a special mother, too, and writes regularly on the problems of a special mother and special children. She's passionate about fiction or history and she often enjoys writing those on social media. She occasionally writes poems in Bengali and English as well. She also had an anti-racism pen in her hand.

 

The blogger is proud to express his pleasure to the author for agreeing to publish the poem on this blog. The blogger is also grateful to the author for her volunteerism.