Expectant Gaze

Muddled Head

Heavy Heart

I Walk

Not To Seek Solace

Just To Breathe

Behind My Blue Mask.

Soon Enough

I See Them Lined

As They See Me

I Catch Her Gaze

Welcoming

Hesitant And 

Expectant 

And Then Another

Yet Another

All Lined Up

Seeking A Buyer

To Their Earnest

Livelihood.

Further Down

A Familiar Smell

Wafts Through The Air

Crispy Pakodas

Fresh Out Of A Fryer

As She Serves

A Hungry Soul

I Catch Her Gaze

Welcoming

And Expectant

Luring Me 

To Buy Her Wares

So The Old Couple

Could Have A Meal Tonight.

I See Them

Everywhere Now

Those Expectant Eyes

That Rickshaw Puller

Seeking His First Ride

On A Listless Day

That Tiny Shop

Run By An Old Grandpa

Offering Photocopying

In A Locked Out City

That Chocolate Store

Newly Opened

With Dreams 

That Shattered Too Soon

That Flower Lady

Who Walked Miles

To Get A Fresh Bunch

Before Daybreak

Stringing Them Together

In Hope

Of A Faithful

Wanting To Please

His Despondent God

An Expectant Couple

Looking Beyond 

The Curtained Confines

Of A Locked Up Temple

Seeking Blessings

From Their Invisible God

As They Hope 

For A Girl

To Hold Together

The Last Few Shreds

Of A Broken Marriage

The Juice Center

The Vegetable Vendor

The Tea Maker

The Gift Shop

And The 

Hungry Mongrel

Seeking A Friendly 

Sapien,

A Expectant Gaze,

They All Carry.

For

An Expectant Gaze

Awaits Them

As Their Guilty Eyes

Make Their Way Home

Not Having Earned

A Penny

In A Whole Day’s Toil.

Hungry Eyes

Hopeful Souls

Seek Answers

How Much Longer Mom?

Before We Are Seen

By This Decaying World

And Its Apathetic People

How Much Longer Dad?

Before They Realize

We Are Humans Too

Not Castaways In 

The Peking Order

Of Economic Choices

A Muddled Head

An Even Heavier Heart

I Trudge Back Home

Unable To Breathe

Behind The Weight

Of An Expectant Gaze.