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Saturday, January 17, 2009

In The Eyes Of An #@@#$%^&$%

He Wakes up at the sound of the alarm,
Observes the angle between the hands,
Nods confirmation of their position,And
Assures himself with the light of dawn.

Glances at the newspaper, scouting for photos-
That appeal, switches on the TV if there are,
Else dismisses it as an uneventful yesterday.

Arrives at the bus-stop, searches for a friendly face,
As any appears, he enquires whether it goes to where he wants.
Whilst Travelling, he observes the figures and designs,
Recognizing Recurring patterns, Speculating what they could mean.

Dialling a number, a test of matching similar symbols,
Not so facile if it was hand-written,
But nonetheless possible, albeit after a few approximations.

Paying bills, a test of matching colours,
Light brown notes give a pack of chips,
Light pink ones give double those.
Familiar purple-brown ones, equivalent to a litre of petrol,
The light bright bluish paper sufficing for most of his petty needs,
Those Dark Green ones for a lavish meal for 2,
And the Seldom Bright Sparkling Pink note, a Small Fortune!

And So He Walks and Gazes,
Lost in this maze of shapes,
Unaware of the truths they share,
Unaware of the power they bear,
He wanders where we pause, but also,
Ponders alone at those, for which we do not care.

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In The Eyes Of An #.@@.#$.%.^&.$.%
In The Eyes Of An I.L.L.I.T.E.R.A.T.E

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your eye for detail is pretty evident. Contemporary writing, A compassion for those illiterate, admirable

nanda said...

thank you for the observations and comments :)

Meghana Naidu said...

The poem started off as 'just another one' didnt try to hook the reader or any of those antics. i almost felt like "oh ill read it later." but i realised how truly brilliant it was in the end. It made me look twice at the poem and re-read with a new perspective. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi nanda, your writings could create instant connection... amazing....

Please do let me know about a blog that I write for my daughter as her narrative--http://reveda.blogspot.com/

I have recently started my own blog as I dont want to let me thought process interfere my daughter's blog. My blog has become my playground and the address is-

http://myheartfeltmusings.blogspot.com/

nanda said...

@meghana : thanks for not giving up reading in ur first attempt :D

@alok : thanks, shall read your blog soon!

Amber Light said...

simply brilliant.. what a way of looking at things.
i would take this further to say that being illiterate is not a limit to your imagination and ability to think. it is just being able to communicate with other people.
illiterate is not equal to stupid. in this day and age, infact to be illiterate and yet live here means you are cleverer!
great read

nanda said...

@amber:
yes, agreed that the person would be cleverer! but think of the possibilities of how much more such a person could achieve if he was armed with the weapons of literacy!