THE UN-SMART ONE

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Desperate they were, to teach me to be smart;
Poor learner that I was, they were at wit’s end.
My folks believed firmly that I had too much soft matter
That  needed to be hardened- to make me worldly wise-
And ‘smart’.

They took me to a vegetable market and pointed out some smarties;
One I saw- a pot bellied- rich looking guy,
In aggressive dialogue with a poor, wizened old lady
(Who must have spent a full day under the scorching sun),
Haggling smartly for a bargain of a couple of rupees.

“Learn smartness from him!”
They pointed out.

Then and there I decided,
Smartness is not for me.
If that be smart, I have no doubt then,
Un-smartness is my choice.





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