Contemporary Literary Review India | Print ISSN 2250-3366 | Online ISSN 2394-6075 | Impact Factor 8.1458 | Vol. 8, No. 2: CLRI May 2021

Kumar Sawan

Traffic

I see the red light

And I stop

With every one

Stopping beside me.

I check my face

In the mirror.

It appears older

Every time I look.

I throw a curse or two

To the people,

To the crowd,

And to the traffic.

While the scorching heat

Slaps my face,

I see some lad

Cleaning the window shields.

Perhaps he wanted

Just twenty bucks

And I just had to say

Oh! Life sucks.

From the corner

Of the street,

I hear something, something

Like a groaning stomach.

Amidst loud horns

and heat I wonder,

How can I hear Hunger

In the street.

I drop my helmet’s shield

And close my eyes

And hear warning whistles,

Angry silencers.

I then hear

The groaning stomach

Growing louder, and

Louder and louder

I open my eyes

And see the beggar

And the boy, coming

Towards me, together.

I reach for my wallet

And see every vehicle

Moving again, And I move too

Leaving everything behind.

Kumar Sawan was born and brought up in Lucknow. He is currently pursuing his Master’s in English Literature from Lucknow University.

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