I, people and things

A prose poem

I trudged on and into the market place I came
Bare-footed in search of a ware to wear
To assuage my blistering feet from giving in to defeat
I plodded on in my grubby attire
Through the bedraggled market isle
My feet wet with pungent water from market waste
The blazing sun sapped from my stream
Life given rivulets; I feared I would expire but
I let my imagination soar beyond the fury pangs
Of the fiery sun, to that moment of respite
Whence I have despite all odds, salvaged my sole
There I found solace.

Amidst my consternation
Those market boys and girls knew not better
Than to cluster and thrust their unwanted ware
Before my dimming vision
Then a look at my feet they fled
I know now they thought I was mad
But mad were they for not knowing my mission
They cluster and thrust before my glare
There unwanted ware.

The market women covered in unwashed aprons
Smudgy from libations of tomatoe- blood and pepper- wine, of which they daily drink; stopped and stared
And shrugged and said
"Ah! Must be a new one"
"Poor soul"
What wickedness did this to him?"
Those wicked villagers of his must have"
A broken heart may be"
Perhaps he took to drugs"
" Youths of nowadays!"
There thousand oppressive opinions
I bore as best as I could and not a word
Offered I in contention of their conjectures
I alone know myself and know one else but me

I hastened up
And at a glance saw it I
Like Eden's' apple upon the tree
It hung among motley others
Its ebony colour glinted in the sun
It was like finding a nickel in a grass
" How much may I buy this?" I asked the seller
" A thousand and one hundred" said the seller
A thousand and two hundred I paid
My course now fulfilled, my gem of a ware in hand
I plodded on, homeward now.
But vowing to avenge this ridicule, here today
Meted out most unfairly to me by those market folks.

Straight for the shower now at home
I went and divest off of my self the grubby attire
And the clinging dirts too
And through my scanty wardrobe I searched
And brought my best regalia, that very one I wear
On great-rare occasions and put them on
And my best perfume I applied,its fragrance
Am yet to find words to describe.
Finally in my crafting of myself
I went and wore the gem of a ware , I had bought.
With so much tenderness I wore it: slowly , gently; the left foot first. Then the right foot I put on
There came this pain through me. I never before experienced
It sent tremulous shivers up my spine.
From my heel too large for my new ware
I stiffled the pain from erupting further
I could bear it if only to get my revenge
So off I went though in pains.

Into the market place again I came
With such gait and mien
Yet to be written in books, even books of fantasies
In solemn strides I strode through the market place
The weather, as if informed was calmer, and the sun wiser.
Or was it that I out dazzled the sun in its own game?
The wind was too was wise and so not wild
The gentlest of breeze accompanied me as I went
And elegance I spread whence I passed

Then the boys and girls from before saw I
But now mystery in their eyes I saw
Awed by my very self, who they here before detested
Past the market women; they shrugged and stared
Now not in disgust but in wonder
" What a man so spick and span"
Then they beckoned on me with utmost tenderness
" Sir if you would, take a look at my wares"
"Fine sir, please I will give you jara"
They importuned.
But not a word offered I in reply
Nose high in the air I passed them, passed them
And their frigging goods
I felt it now; the weight of my revenge on them
who now is mad? I saw their foolishness
Now I decided to do this often
For the love of it and the vain

And now everyday I go to the market
Dressed to awe and ridicule the sense of the market folks
I put on my new gem inspite of the pain I mentioned before

Then my travails started
As days turned into weeks
And weeks yet to turn into months
My gem of a ware started to wear
Then tear and finally a shred I have
Of the once beautiful ware I owned
Alas! It has betrayed its nature
It was truly the apple at Eden
I fell into a misery so profound
I pondered: when does reality delude
I was a victim, as well as the market folks
Of this gross, common and fatal fallacy
Of taking appearance for reality
I was fretting.
My soul grew sour from grief and my strength
Washed away
Now the pain on my toe came; I started
To feel the pangs in a magnitude that never was there
This pangs coupled by my shattered state of mind
Made my remaining days horrid

I writhe and wriggled in pain
I needed care both of the mind and body
But being me, I dared not even in my pains
Give another the pleasure of beholding my helplessness.
So obsitnately, I observed myself leave me, slowly
Painfully.
The pain in my heart of my damned gem
And the consuming pangs of from my toe
Dragging me to my ebb. Against all my will

Then that day came that final day
I watched myself slip into oblivion
I thought I was sleeping but this sleep
Most unfortunately, was the final of thing for me.