Condemned Alleys Fading Stars

Veena


On rare pensive moments when one contemplates on the vagaries of human existence
Fleeting thoughts and images flash with persistence

You stop the car at the traffic lights an emaciated maimed hand knocks at the window
With irritation writ large on your face and harsh words you glare at the mutilated wreck
Admonish the waif and scrutinize the window pane for an invisible speck
Never to ponder whether the disfigurement was natural or a brutal imposition
The coercion and agony during the process hastened to serve a vile commission
The vacant look the dumb lips must have spoken million words lost to your communication

An entourage complete children nanny and pet head for the urban park you follow lovingly
Footsteps arrested you frown at your child’s curiosity at the urchins scrounging the bin hungrily
With stern instructions and unwanted vehemence you drag him away from the scum
Never does it occur that the motley crowd may not be the product of the slum
Loved and cherished in the yester days whose unfortunate disappearance is still deeply mourned
The loved ones are wasting for their glimpse praying fervently for their return cursing the abductors

A nudge in a busy market place an insistent tug a thrust of a begging bowl
A blind mendicant led by a scrawny girl a picture complete on the whole
An abandoned helpless mother surrounded by her wailing brood begs for sustenance
Ever wondered how many mothers must have been deprived to create such scenes of sufferance
These wretched destitute scattered way beyond our gaze and imagination
Too are priceless gems uncut and unpolished to be picked and taken in consideration

Orphaned or abandoned? Exploited or manipulated? Runaways or refugees?
All caught in the nexus of human traffickers and law enforcers
Indispensable part of a vicious cycle a link of an unbroken chain
Despised and scorned duped by hollow assurances and deceiving refrain
The stigmatized lot forsaken and deprived crave for an identity
No affluence or opulence just some recognition and dignity

At the periphery of our comfort zone seek admission
To shed inhibitions and carve a humble acceptance
Do they have the liberty and permission?

~By: Veena Umesh Sood`
Images: Pinterest

38 thoughts on “Condemned Alleys Fading Stars”

    1. Our society is largely indifferent to prevailing evils so by raising our voice against these ills I feel we create awareness and play a positive role . Thanks for visiting my blog and sharing your views .

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    1. Hi Smita I too am glad to be back thanks . I agree it is an unresolved issue and it troubles me greatly . At times when when we voice our concern it makes a difference no matter how small it is . 🥰🥰🥰

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  7. These thoughts present themselves all too often where I live but many of the beggars here do it for a living they send out children dressed for the part pretending to be refugees, sad, and they prey on tourists I have seen them with large wads of money going back to their mother. You see them on another day all dressed and clean. Their begging clothes put away. It is difficult to know what to think. I give money to a little boy who sells tissue packs at least he is doing a small business.

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    1. Quite true it is difficult to differentiate as to who is engaged in professional beggary as an easy way to earn a living or who is forced into this trade . It is pitiable when children are forced and abused to provide for the needs and comforts of those who should be looking after them .

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  11. Your words are vividly honest asking where is the humanity in what we see, and do we even care. Starvation and extreme poverty along with homelessness is a very real problem. In many countries these pictures exist. Your words are hauntingly sad captured by photographs. Why such inequality? Thank you for your words of wisdom so beautifully written. 💕❤️ love Joni

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      1. My pleasure dear Veena. My daughter has a self funded Restavek Foundation for Haiti and has three children living in the US. Two of my grandchildren were slave children found chained to a bed and the other child was left to die as his family thought he was a voodoo child. She stayed until he was eating regularly and got care for him. They are now beautiful happy children who are dearly loved. Haiti never received all the money that was raised if they had it still would not look like a bomb went off. I have been on several mission trips with my daughter and been blessed with the gift of providing food, clothing, and more to villages that are extremely difficult to even reach. It can be dangerous there. Foundations that do not take donations are the ones you often see where there are tragedies. It is so sad the extreme poverty and the few that live with such ridiculous wealth. I thought your writing was beautiful capturing the atrocities of extreme poverty and slavery. Take care and I pray your health will get better soon. ❤️Joni

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      2. Your experiences are so disturbing when you are living a life of relative comfort you become so much in yourself and tend to forget the world around you and it is this world which helps you to realise your blessings and good fortune . If we are able to do just a little for those who need help the world would become a wonderful place. Thanks for sharing. 💕💕

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  13. Reblogged this on Mitch Teemley and commented:
    My Featured Blogger this week is Veena Sood of Recollections At Fall. Poet and essayist Veena lives in the northern Indian city of Shimla, a popular tourist destination nestled at the base of the Himalayas. But it’s also an educational center with a long literary tradition, which is where Veena fits in. She began her blog, she says, to reach “the heights which my soul craves.” “Mortality gnaws,” she notes, and “fall has set in,” so “it is now or never.” But Veena’s ponderings are more than merely introspective. Along the way, she challenges us to reach for new heights, as well.

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