A Simple Lesson Poem by Namita Rani Panda

I saw a brown leather wallet lying helpless on the way
Just in front of the crowded court house of the capital city in the rush of a day
Crowd surged in and one after another passed by
Shinny screeching vehicles heedlessly drove with no interest to pry
People gossiping sipping tea standing beside the tea stall
Some gulping savoury snacks least concerned about the surrounding at all

The poor wallet lay there with a slightly swelling belly
A pregnant lady as if waiting for a hand to be lifted up generously
May be holding a stranger's hard-earned wages: his daily bread
Or his much-valued papers that he badly needed
Also, may be there a photograph of someone dear
His love, life and hope wrapped in this piece of parched leather

I saw the weary wallet looking at me expectantly
To be picked up to be reunited with its real master kindly
I lifted my free hands and moved towards it with light foot
But the ‘I' within me pulled me back to think of the output
'Someone may have played a prank to test and humiliate the greedy
No need to be entangled in mess for a highly qualified civilised lady
Why you when so many others are there to rescue
Someone must already have ransacked it and thrown it before you'

The wallet still laying there petrified missed or hit by many heedless moving entity
As if a hapless lost girl who in an overcrowded city lost her chastity
My hands were free and my heart seemed light
When I chose to ignore and left silently considering it right
But very often in lonely hours does my conscience prick
For choosing sophistication as a true measuring stick
For it's a fleeting chance, a divine test in sight
To measure my integrity and how far I was morally upright

Forgive me dear wallet for my paltry foolish haste
A golden chance of helping someone went absolutely waste
I left behind humanity for the sake of false vanity
May a kinder genuine soul pick you up with utmost dignity
You left a remarkable yet very simple useful lesson
To heed earnestly even the smallest cry with little hesitation