A few have just returned from reaping crops, dry cheeks ruddy from cold
Grass blades glued on their handsewn clothes, Still panting from the exertion
Hands parched scratched from digging out tubers from hard earth
Tiny fingers frayed, a few swollen tender
Unsheathed feet torn and cracked, yet all smiling huddled in a dusty yard
under a tree in winter splendour
Their unbridled laughter bloomed like daisies, dust laden hair a cascade of glittering stars
With dreams of books in their hopeful eyes, all came to school daily in the morning hour
They wrote crooked letters on torn muddy sheets,
read painfully slow in incomprehensible language broken
But were persistent in attendance and bringing seasonal flowers,
small faces always glowing with anticipation
They looked at me the way urban kids look at Ironman with reverence;
The realisation gave a sinking feeling to my palpitating heart
But I borrowed resolution from their gleaming dark eyes,
Endurance from torn feet and chapped bleeding lips
Marching on I picked up the chalk…and I found the best students in the world
their world as dark as their blackboard cracked waiting to be lit up by letters white
eager, attentive, zestful and curious, looking expectantly as my hand moved in strange designs
We refurbished the ‘library’ – an instant favourite, like with kids anywhere else in the world
Those children in tatters, with gunny-bags for chairs, were starry eyed for ‘The sailor Sindbad!’
Slowly I got acquainted with them started with pinning a handkerchief to each tiny chest
and pasted smiley stickers and shiny stars on untorn notebooks with finished tests
As they grappled alphabets and numerical, I marvelled at their indomitable spirit
the unshakable unflinching faith in me, their presence simplicity and their grit
They touched my life changing it forever; never to be the same again
Angels with toothy grins in mismatched uniforms,
always ‘Present Ma’am’ be sunshine, hailstorm or rains
I remember them forever as inspiration with childhood tied in their faded rainbow scarves,
Bohemia flickering in their impending smiles
Fireflies of hope dancing in their eyes lustrous,
their soul a mirror of resplendent sunrise
// This poem has been penned by Kokila Gupta who was among the Top 10 Finalists in the first poetry slam event (A Rhythmic Affair) conducted by Beyond the Box for adults. //