Survivor Poem by Bishnupada Sethi

Greenish looking potatoes,
Super soft brinjals
With shrivelled skin turning brown,
Soft and mushy onion
Covered with dark spots and mold,
Dark green tomatoes oozing out juice,
Alcohol tinted mangoes
Beginning to ferment-
I remember the bitter flavour
Of many such vegetables:
Though pungent and weird
Those smelt tangy and sour.

The vendors of daily market would
Sort out and discard the spoiled ones
While they opened their outlets
Much before the buyers arrived-
As everything should look fresh
And worth the price.

None would mind
If I picked those up.
The vendors too were happy
To see the cleaning job done
Free of cost.

Today I opened up my mind.
I was filled up with
A unique aroma
Of a curry
I made from those vegetables
Separating the rotten parts.

It then mitigated a great hunger
Of the survivor of a great famine
Giving great joy
Like never experienced later.