“The Lead Trinkets”

This has been on my mind for quite a long time. The feeling is even more pronounced when I am in the moment, watching little fingers fiddling with utensils at roadside eateries, or the tiny, clumsy bodies performing dangerous acts in the middle of nowhere, just for a two square meal. So basically, child labour.

It’s heart- wrenching, especially when I feel that I am helpless at the current moment. So, I penned down a few lines: 

Behold, behold the tiny troubled hands,
Trinkets of love or boulders of toil?
Behold, behold the circles beneath the eyes,
Rings of fulfillment or clouds of ignorance?
Behold, behold the plain pale faces,
Sheath of serenity or shadows of hunger?
Let them read, let them learn, let them grow,
For they are the strongest seeds you can ever sow.
– Deepti Nair