An evocative poem about insensitivity to elders, by Abu, exclusively for Different Truths.

Yesterday I visited a bank
an elderly man stood
in queue just before me
two boxes — one for deposit,
one for delivery,
the middle-aged man in charge
of deposit sat idle and yawned
while the other boy was too busy
with withdrawal slips, cash, cheques, to blink
my aged pal’s turn came
and he somehow gave a pink slip to the boy
the boy typed and checked his screen
and hurriedly returned the slip
and said, ‘only thousand you have,
I am sorry.’
the aged man watched sides
like a thief for a while,
I can’t tell why
and the faces from my back
shouted, ‘move aside man,
you have only thousand.
why haven’t you checked
before coming to queue?’
the aged man didn’t speak,
he moved aside and vacantly looked at
the pink slip dangling
from his dying fingers.       

Visual by Different Truths

Abu Siddik

Abu Siddik teaches at Plassey College, Nadia, West Bengal, India. He loves to write poem, short story and article on the struggle and resilience of the Indian marginalised communities, the underdogs, the outcasts. He has 12 books.