A Petty Thief Poem by Raghurama Raju

I coughed endlessly
for two nights and three days
till my belly muscles ached
I didn't sleep and neither
did I allow my family members!

I grabbed my purse and
climbed up the stairs of a
big private hospital,
leaning against my wife's shoulder!

They tested me for complete blood picture,
sputum test, pulmonary function test,
tuberculosis test, ESR, elisa test,
this, that and what not else?

Now wisdom dawns upon me!
The man who penetrates your house
at midnight and snatches your ring
or a chain around your wife's neck,
is after all, a petty thief!