Sold for a few pennies

With tears

She looked at her smiling baby

Who just got into this world

Just a while ago

She was proud to be a mother

But she couldn’t afford

To raise her kid

Like she dreamt

Beautiful attires

Lot of toys

Nice food and education

Nor a good home

Destined to struggle

Facing a race against time

Every day

Just to survive another day

With scant resources

When other kids

Play around with fun

She couldn’t take her soul

To such a struggle

When she has to fight

To meet ends

As she can’t even spend time

She was alone 

Abandoned

To face this life

Scared to think

About a treacherous future

For her beloved soul

She thought to give it

A new lease of life

A prosperous journey

With love and care

As someone who craves to love

Waiting

Ready to take her soul away

Ready to

Spend a fortune

For rest of life

To raise her baby with love

She didn’t want money

To survive

She just wanted to get her baby

A secured future

That she can’t even dream to deliver

She kissed her baby for last time

She may not ever see her soul again

But she felt relieved

As she handed over

Her baby to an excited woman

She saw her sparkling eyes

Filled with ecstasy

Like that in small kids

When they get what they wish

Yeah it’s been a wait for long time

It’s been her only wish

Now it’s fulfilled

She cried as she kissed that baby

For the first time

She gave the mother

A bundle of currency

Well ,that money didn’t mean much

May be can get her some breathing time

To search for avenues to live

Baby kept smiling

As she turned around

Walked gingerly

Tears were unstoppable

She didn’t turned back once

As she couldn’t bear that sight

Seeing her baby being taken away

She walked to her home

Cursing at her own plight

Cursing at the man who left her

Costing her beloved baby

Forced to live forever

With the memories

Of a few moments with her baby

Feeling guilty

That she sold her soul for few pennies

But, she had no other choice

All she can do is pray for her baby

Cycle Polo

I was walking with two minds

Whether to take left direction

Or just to maintain the trajectory

Walking past the bus stop

I heard chants from some kids

Brother, please retrieve that ball

I looked across the road

I found it in the middle of the road

I went and threw that ball back to the ground

I decided to go to the ground to sit for a while

I sat on the stand beneath that old tree

It’s an old dream hangout for me

I used to play and used to watch lot of games

Football and cricket

But it was a haven for budding cycle polo players

Over the years, I’ve seen many kids

Learning to roll the ball using their sticks

Riding their bicycles

This same ground has been a university

For many players who donned state and national colors

It staged many cycle polo tournaments in past

It’s an inspiration for many aspiring kids

I saw different groups of kids

Practicing cycle polo

Trying out their tricks to show off

At the middle, a group was competitive

They chased down the ball

Riding the cycle faster

Made some intriguing passes

Scored some goals

Saw some girls just passing the ball around

But it’s the young kids whom I watched

I saw the eagerness to learn

Trying to be balanced on the cycle

To move faster to pass and chase the ball

Two of them just missed a collision by a whisker

They acknowledged and kept on playing

I wondered when most of new generation kids

Aspire to play cricket, football, or some other sports

Which will yield them money or fame

The passion for cycle polo is still there

At least in this place

It’s not an easy game though

None of them fell once

They were always steady and

 Avoided each other’s path

Even when they were trying to block or tackle

Keeping a safe distance and speed

It still amazes me, how they manage to control

The cycles just like that right from childhood

One thing is sure

The future is bright

 Cycle polo will survive

Even though there are no glitz and glamour

Nor any big sponsorships to ponder

It’s just the passion that keeps these players going