A New Year's Eve

One pleasant autumn has come and gone,

The robin has sung its very last song.

Winter is here on its midway,

Frozen lakes , snow on the highway.

 

December 31st; Eve of the New Year,

Festive mood; euphoria in the air,

Maddening crowd and twinkling lights,

The city will see one big, crazy night.

 

Houseful pubs and flowing wine,

The party has begun when the clock struck nine.

Noisy nightclubs, legs shaking in the discotheques,

Streets get merrier as the night turns opaque.

 

Snow falls thick, the cars’ tortoise-crawl,

Cascade of honks in the traffic snarl,

Some to their homes, some to have dinner in the candlelight,

Everyone is up for New Year’s night.

 

Out on the street there is a boy called Tom,

Frostbitten hands; a short, skinny form,

He wears a sweater made of scanty fur,

He is busy wiping the snow off the bonnet of a car.

 

Some pay him two pence, some pay him three,

Tom laughs out loud, he is mad with glee,

From one car to the other, little Tom roams,

Ten more cars and then food for home!

 

Pop open the champagnes; Let us bathe in the beer,

The clock has struck twelve;  it‘s Happy New Year!

Strangers hug and the couples snog,

In the dark pavements, the mist thickens into fog.

 

The heavens above glimmer in fireworks,

In a shack of a slum, a little Tom lurks.

His father is dead; his poor mother weeps,

Thousand little Toms lay awake, but the cold city sleeps.

Author's Note

This poem was based upon a true experience I had once had. It was almost 8 years ago. The day was 31st December and it was New Year’s Eve. My brother had a 3:00 a.m. British Airways flight to catch for London and we were travelling to see him off at the airport. It was the first time when I was out at the streets on the New Year’s Eve and what a night it was! Drunken boys shouting from their cars, cars streaming in and out of the one or two five star hotels that we passed, people queuing up outside the smallest of pubs and restaurants. I had never seen such sights anytime before. It happened outside ITC Sonar Bangla on EM Bypass. Our car was stuck in a traffic jam and as I happened to look outside, I saw a boy not more than 8 years old (read it: 8 years old) was cleaning the bonnet of a car in the traffic jam with soap water. The man at the driver’s seat was giving him instructions as to how it should be properly done and the woman sitting beside him; presumably his wife was busy applying lip-gloss to her lips. It has been 8 years since then and still it has been vividly etched out in my memory. This is the first time I am sharing it with anybody. Today we don’t think twice before throwing money down the drain in so many useless ways and pretending that we are at par of the ‘hippest’ and the ‘coolest’ people of the planet. But the fact remains that the country I come from has stark opposites residing in parallel.( 2 out of 10 richest people in the world are Indians and India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but still a large section of the population remains poor and impoverished.) I don't know how I wrote it, but it is very close to my heart. Hope you people liked it..

Reviews

[Augustus]

As a fellow Indian, the subject matter of the poem appeals to me immediately. This poem is very moving. It sort of reminds me of a story called "The Little Match Girl"... In terms of poetic devices, I loved the phrase "night turns opaque" ...that is a very unique description of the night... Two lines in this poem really made my heart bleed.

"Ten more cars and then food for home!"
Indeed! Tom's existence is hand to mouth and so skillfully portrayed here!

"Thousand little Toms lay awake, but the cold city sleeps."
Beautiful generalization of Tom's case here and clearly stating that the city is cold in more ways than one.

A poem infused with melancholic beauty!

[Blake]

I'm not much of a poet, but I know a good poem when I see one :) This is a great write you have penned here. Even through the many rhymes you have showed us a clear image of the setting. I could even feel the emotions in the poem. Really great job once again!

[EMMIE]

AWWWW...SWEET. YOU ALMOST HAD ME TEARY AT THE END THERE. VERY SWEET AND SAD POEM. THANKS FOR SHARING.

[...]

Such amazing insight and well written subject.

[V]

its well-written, very heartfelt and i like how you describe the "darker" side of a celebratory day.

[Frank Purcell]

an excelent descriptive story-poem. i enjoy reading novels and short stories, so this story being in the form of a poem was a cherry on the cake. thank you for the good read and sharing your personal experience.

[J Todd Underhill]

I did like the tale, well crafed with some rhymes I have not thought of. Bravo On this insight on what brought you to this writing as well!