turn my eyes away
the blind woman on the train sings
‘turn my eyes away from worthless things, oh lord,
let me live through thee
allelujah’
she holds on to her guide as they shuffle forward
on worn soles, harmonising in resigned rhythm
my fellow commuters turn their eyes away
from her hollow eye sockets
no one digs into their pockets
my purse yields only a R2 coin and some coppers
that clatter into the empty enamel cup
a petty offering to assuage my guilt
at taking my sight, albeit it short, for granted
the guide dips two small curtsies from the knee
and taps her plastic toy tambourine across her heart
to thank me
in shame I turn my eyes away
allelujah, lord,
allelujah
May 28th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
http://kaganof.com/kagablog/2007/12/02/liberals-at-dusk/
May 31st, 2009 at 2:21 pm
what a coincidence: liberals at dusk, anton’s run-in with the beggars of India and now your poem, all in one kaga entry …
June 1st, 2009 at 9:32 am
I had a new strategy with beggars for a while. I chose one person (let my instinct choose) and every month i used to help him out with an amount of money i would otherwise distribute in five meticais coins. I bought his baby formula, bought his family pap and those basics for the month. I thought, let me rather help one guy for real, instead of hundreds in drips and drabs. I used to deny the rest of the million others (i felt so guilty every time), focussed on that one, that one who sat on the pavement one day. A beam of light came from the sky and shone only on him. AIDS, wife with aids, healthy baby needing formula.
Then he started lying to me, showing up at my house at odd times. It hit me late that he was conning me all this time. Now i just give to every single person. I don’t make it through the month, I think i should cut down on my vices, stop driving to SA so much, stop trying to kill this fire of guilt inside me with drips and drabs of coins.