Charity by Yamini Niranjan

The orange jacket looks fabulous on my kid.
I appraise him with glowing pride.
Taking him out for a walk, we meet
Another child, ill-fed, dirty and fetid .

“The cold that hurts my darling’s skin,
Is the same that ravages that child’s body”,
Pity surges within me,
And urges me to help the child.

“Why should one suffer from bitter cold,
While another enjoys the luxury of warmth?”
So I take upon myself to bring solace,
For the poor child shivering on the road.

But that’s when an afterthought strikes me;
Is it fine to give a jacket to one,
Many children are living with him when?
So a jacket for all, I decide finally.

I put my plan in front of my family,
The final approving authority.
After much deliberation comes the conclusion,
The plan is too costly to afford.

“Just one jacket for that child is enough”,
My husband offers as a pacification.
I look at him with consternation,
Then acquiesce, thankful for what I’ve got.

I fret about the selfishness that,
Stops us from helping the deprived.
Fishing out money for the jacket
My eyes fall on my kid’s old one.

My shrewdness nudges, “Embrace
Reusability and save your bucks!”
I pride my practical mind,
And pick the old Jacket.

Just then Grandma walks in,
“Why give old clothes for free?
When the vessel vendor would exchange,
Them for good vessels and trays”.

That’s practicality at its best.
The shivering child is soon forgotten.
My conscience’s feeble voice is muted down,
And I set out to find the vessel vendor.

Yamini Niranjan is a freelance writer who strongly believes in the idiom ’home comes first’. Her values and beliefs get amply reflected in her writings, which mirror to the world the things she stands firmly by. Her stories are inspired by people and incidents around her and her impetus comes from her loving family.