Even Today — Abnish Singh Chauhan

O Bread!
That day,
I searched for you
on the streets,
by the riverside,
and even in the heaps of garbage.
But you were
nowhere to be found.

Someone told me,
“You are looking
for the wrong thing,
in the wrong place.”
“Wrong thing?”
I asked, astonished.

“Yes,” he replied,
“It belongs to the haves,
and you are not
one of them.
It is found
in their modular kitchens,
hotels, restaurants,
and even in their warehouses,
packed neatly in hot-pots.
And you, gentle voter,
are not allowed to enter.”

But how can I accept this?
O Bread!
You are within
my body,
my mind,
and my spirit.
I am listening
to your divine music
in my weary breath.

***