Rickshawallah

Under the blazing sun,

The man stands-

strong hands holding on to brake,

and legs tapping out a rhythm on pedals,

pearls of sweat glistening down

the small of a tanned back,

sinews bare pumped

with raised veins of blood;

he stops when school kids pass,

he stops when highway men for

anything ask.

Stranded on the busy thoroughfare,

under the glare of ubiquitous billboards,

among limbs and feet and shrill

cacophony,

He closes his eyes,

soft he goes back to last night

when quiet and peaceful,

he had slept with hunger,

plates were empty, and not touched.

He loves his child all the more

for the books that could not be bought,

and future not won.

So, there he stands

strong though as he seems,

under the blazing sun.

Yasif Ahmad Faysal teaches English at the University of Barishal.