I stopped my car on a crossroad; <br />Waiting for the red light to turn green; <br />When suddenly my eyes froze over a sight; <br />A frail old man fighting with his plight. <br /> <br />His shabby clothes, his frowsy hair; <br />His skeletonous body, his broken spectacles; <br />Said it all. <br />A poor old man, hunting trash for food to eat; <br />Gashed by adversity; <br />Deprived by destiny. <br /> <br />I opened my car door, moved out; <br />Realizing, I could help him out. <br />I asked if he wanted some money; <br />He refused and turned his head away. <br />A tear trickled down his cheek; <br />A hot lump rushed down my throat, I felt weak. <br /> <br />I insisted to help; <br />He told me to sit. <br />“I have been living here for twenty years; <br />Feeding on filth, fighting for life. <br />But no one has ever come to give me respite; <br />To give me cloth; <br />To give me food; <br />To mend these broken glasses of mine.” <br /> <br />I offered him some alms; <br />He was agonized, he got red; <br />“All you well-offs do this; <br />Give us money and go away; <br />But have you ever thought? <br />Have you ever thought what we feel, <br />When someone treats us like animals and avoids us even with his feet? <br />We are humans, not dogs; <br />We are like you all; <br />Only we have less and you have more.” <br /> <br />I was left speechless; <br />And thought how cruel we are. <br />I climbed into my car and drove it ahead; <br />But the old man’s words had stuck in my head. <br /> <br />There are many such old men; <br />Many such poor men; <br />Who die on roadsides; <br />Unnoticed, unsung; <br />Just because they have less and we have more.<br /><br />Swapan Deep Singh<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/because-they-have-less-and-we-have-more/
