A Window Away
By Nandini Raisurana
I looked out of the window and saw a little boy
He gave me a weak smile.
His tattered rags tearing against my cashmere
His tear-stained helpless eyes that bore into my suspicious, interrogating pair
His famished, fragile body nervous before my healthy one that I was too conscious of.
We belonged to two different worlds,
All I had to do was smile back.
I looked out of the window and saw a little boy
He told me he hadn’t eaten for days.
His infected water from the drain splashed against my filtered bottle
His cold rotis and half-eaten Parle-G biscuits dropped before my avocado cream cheese sushi his meal was Stale, saturated with bacteria; mine was too salty, too spicy.
Our hunger belonged to two different worlds,
All I had to do was give him a bite of mine.
I looked out of the window and saw a little boy,
He asked me to read that little torn piece of paper.
His incapability to read & write against my boredom of my high school textbooks, his baffled, clueless expression before my know-it-all- one,
His traditional mindset versus my ‘globalised’ or should I say ‘westernized’ thoughts, our minds belonged To two different worlds
All I had to do was share my books.
I looked out of the window and saw a little boy,
He invited me to his house.
His tiny hut with a single half-broken fuse; towered by my endless electricity bill his overcrowded single Room versus my five-bedroom for four
His half-broken roof beneath my exotic marble.
Our homes belonged to two different worlds.
All I had to do was invite him home.
I looked out of the window and saw a little boy
he extended his hand out to me.
His uneven broken nails chipped against my freshly manicured ones,
His old withered twigs bowed before mine; well-fed and ornate with the most beautiful jeweled rings,
His unreadable muddy palm twitched upon seeing my sweet smelling one that had been told it would live a 100 years.
Our fate belonged to two different worlds;
All I had to do was hold his hand.
I look out of the window and I see
276 million such little faces
Dwelling in slums right next to skyscrapers
276 million such little faces
Struggling
But smiling
And attempting to somehow connect these two worlds 276 million such little faces
Who are just a window away.
Nandini Raisurana
Nandini Raisurana is a 17-year-old, (residing in Mumbai, India) who writes and dances to destress from the burden of her schoolwork. She is the co-founder of Poetry in Pandemonium, a platform for upcoming poets and songwriters, and can write about anything and everything- right from her own experiences, to her perception of society to politics. Her work has also appeared in Issue 5 of ICC.
Daniel Danzig - June 8, 2020 @ 10:48 am
Thank you for this wonderful poem, Nandini.
Susan Kopman - June 4, 2020 @ 2:54 pm
This is lovely. Congratulations Nandini on continuing your quest for human rights, art and love.