There Is a Fire in Him

by G. S. Banerjee

He stood at the crossing half
Under the half-broken shade of an abandoned bus stop
A bag of ballpoint pens bending
His left shoulder backward, propped up by
His left hand. His faded jeans clinging to his bones
The long sleeves of his discolored shirt rolled up...
He shouts: "Ball pen, hi-phen, Bhall pheen..."
The modulations of his voice
Make heads turn, but the multitudes
Pass by without stopping to buy.
It's been like that and he's stood his ground.

I like to watch him
When I pass that way
And long to hear that call
"Ball pen, fine pen, Ball peeen..."
It's been two decades
And he's there at that place
Standing all day long
With his load of pens: a painful body
Under a cheerful face and he's not giving up
Come what may. Though time has
Moth-eaten his youthful frame
And a front tooth is missing
From his pockmarked face.
He's unconcerned about the telltale
Signs of wavering in his voice or
The fatigue lingering around his load-bent frame.
There is a fire in him
That puts me to shame.

-- GSB
©2000 Gautam Shankar Banerjee

Apart from a slim volume of poetry, Close Your Eyes to See, Gautam Shankar Banerjee has written two novels, Indian Hippie and Aryanman, all three published by Cambridge India, a middle-order publishing house in Calcutta, India. Banerjee is working on a third novel, Enemies of the People. He has signed a contract for the filming of Indian Hippie.
For a living, Banerjee works in the railways. He is now Chief Vigilance Officer (Traffic) Eastern Railway. The enticing world of words and ideas has always attracted him and that is why he is giving up his job in December 2000, after serving 23 years in various positions.