This is a poem written by Sangeeth Ibrahim, based on a short story written and published by Prof. Ibrahimkutty which is in turn based on a true incident. Amaan Iqbal Ibrahim (son of the former and grandson of the latter) had won a prize by reciting this at the school recitation competition in 2008.
My Brothers
On my last birthday
Filled with cakes and balloons adrift;
My parents took me to a school
With food packets and gifts.
A hundred kids ran around
Sweating in the summer heat;
Ruffled hair, no uniforms
And most of them bare feet.
In single line, as a gong struck loud
They filed in with their mates;
Settled upon the bare ground
With their empty metal plates.
In shock I saw their closet rooms
As the warden took us around;
Dark alleys and silent glooms
With tattered beds abound.
“Why don’t their parents take them home?
Have they erred to be punished”?
To mama I asked in a shocking tone
Chocking and anguished.
“None shall come to fetch them dear
Ever through this open door;
To quell their fears and wipe their tears
Their parents are no more”.
With trembling lips, I asked my dad
“When do they have Birthdays?”
“When someone somewhere care to share”
He softly conveys.
Every night since that fateful day
For the orphans I do pray;
And safely save every dirham away
For our next birthday.
If you havent thought about it already…maybe you sould complile all of mamas works and publish it some place online…What you say?
Have thought about it. But most of his works are in malayalam. So I would love to continue the legacy instead. Most of my trainings, speeches and writings are heavily inspired by him anyway.
Simple yet powerful, thought provoking nuggets. I am really going to steal some of the ideas for my next toastmaster speech (with your permission of course). Keep posting my friend….