A Shopkeeper’s Woes

By Asiya Yassin

But nobody asks of the
shopkeeper’s woes,
As he handles the items of
Customers who don’t recall
Where their unconstrained hands have touched
He politely gives them their change
That touch, now, potentially a deadly one
A touch before that seemed a friendly
Exchange between buyer and seller
Now frightens the soul and every dweller.

Nobody celebrates the shopkeeper
Who brought endless smiles to the community
He now tirelessly scrapes to make ends meet
The frost clinging on to his worn out feet,
He’s taken for granted and no-one says hello,
Everyone’s too focused on their own troubles and woes
His ageing is visible as days go by
In this lockdown, people hear his incessant sighs
He reminisces on the days when crowds
Flocked to his store like flies
Now only a few come and
The rest have said goodbye.

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Written Word ‘Hand’ poems