I Am The Main Door. Poem by C. Muralidara Kannan

Some give a light pat on my forehead
Some give a gentle tap on my chest
A few hit my belly
like a mischievous bully
to have an entry or
to invite the attention of
my courteous inmates.

I am an one-eyed
Fastener, at times
the indecent voyeur peeps into my mono-occular eye
to see nothing,
because mine is
a tricky contrivance.

There is always the civilized barbarian who pounds on my neck incessantly tapping at the round steel ring with the hammer of his hand.

None seems to wait for my move,
freeing myself from friction, even a few seconds after a knock.

Many hardly notice
the press-type bhindhi stuck on the top of my left temple.

Only naughty urchins at odd hours press my bhindhi and fly away once my half-sleepy inmate sticks out.

I am like a permanent
Guard doing a thankless job
round the clock
staying in one place with occasional swings and audacious slams
neither can I get in nor can I leave, continually geeting hit mercilessly
by the heartless folks.