The Giver

Ms. Lakshmi stopped eating,

Completely.

Signs of deterioration ignored

The gifts in her bounty bestowed.

 

Mama Lakshmi was the gentlest

In turns, her young sought her breasts

In endearing tenderness, she pressed

Flawlessness, at its best.

 

The delighted neighbours surrounded her

To partake of her offering

That made her children jealous,

And often hungry.

For she would give their rations away

To the needy, and

To the greedy 

Milk, cream and ice cream

Like a machine from a dream!

 

Three hours of unbearable wait

A plastic bag, the surgeon handed over in haste

Eighty kilograms of polythene waste

From the four chambers of her bovine belly,

Were they displaced?

Did the neighbours feel disgraced?

As they indiscriminately discarded their waste.

 

Mama Lakshmi stopped eating completely.

Today.

She made news today

To be forgotten the next day.