I stand before you, With folded hands, Thinking you unfold, The strangle hold of cruel fate. I stand before you, Not because you make me rich. I knew my life is in ditch And the chances of upliftment remote. I stand before you with reverence, Though my survival has no essence, And the philosophy of life Is not mature and ripe. I stand before you, With numb-ness and shyness. To hide my level of poverty, I require my country men’s empathy. I stand before you, Beg you to infuse courage in me, And bring down the caste regency, To pick up the path of transparency. I stand before you, Bow my head and body, Even ready to prostrate, But not at the cost of my integrity -- G.C. Rao 01 - 08- 2006 |