In the concrete jungle
Sits the mother all a-tremble
Because her Baby rabbit
Hasn’t come home from school.
Oh! Could it be that
– The Lion truck has swallowed him
The baby lurched
The Lion truck burped.
A crowd of jungle dwellers surged
‘Take him to hospital’
‘Go through his bag’
‘Inform the family’
There, there the telephone shrills.
Or, could it be
– That in the high growing grass
Of two wheelers
A serpent scooter stung him.
Oh! He lies there
The jungle dwellers quibble
Unable to decide
Whose was the faulty wriggle.
Or, could it be
– That the river of machinery
Has finally got him?
Some Two, Three, Four Wheeler
Lost its cool
Rammed into him
Breaking his skin and bone.
Ah! The necessity of sending him to school
In the concrete jungle
Sits the mother all a-tremble
Her young one is not back
The old fears have taken new shapes.
—
Poetry lover? Check out Rumi: A New Translation
So true Kiran. In fact, this is true for everyone now-a-days, big or small. Just the other day my father, who is almost nearing 60, did not come home by 10 pm and his phone was unreachable. I could see the panic cover engulfing everyone in the house. And the expression “Ah! The necessity of sending him to school” says it all.
Thanks – on the same wavelength? Kindred souls aren’t we? Appreciated your comment on Pilferer also.