deviousways

Sometimes it's just a sniffle Still feels so awful. Makes me want to waffle. Sometimes, it's the sneezing. So constant it's not pleasing. Incessant, very unpleasant. Sometimes, it's a whooshing in my ears. Head feels cloudy and unclear. And that I can't really bear. Sometimes, I just can't breathe It even makes me wheeze. Causes me so much grief. Sometimes, it's that streaming nose Terrible to lie comatose, Feebly trying to stem the flow. Because a cold is never, ever just that. Leaves me like a wet rat And knocks me out flat. _______________________

She squatted by the roadside Shiny pink ruffles fluttering in the breeze. Horns blared, headlights glanced At her nakedness Indecent for being so impersonal. I looked away, unwilling to acknowledge Her vulnerability. The child's parents sell chaat. They have no time or money to waste. Just a living to make. So we walk past, eyes averted Or worse, watching her Because we can. She doesn't care, anyway. Here, the rich can be shameless The poor cannot afford shame.