THE DIGNITY OF LABOUR

 

Four young men, unemployed,

Ran a concern, self-employed,

Sans much of publicity,

In a corner of a city.

 

They went to carry,

Dead ones from the city,

To bury a dead,

Or burn it red.

 

Head side of the dead,

Always one pair carried,

While leg side of it,

Another gave a lift.

 

One day, they fought,

As each pair thought,

Why one was superior,

And another one inferior?

 

They dropped the dead,

Down on the road,

To assert their rights,

To change their sides.

 

An old passerby,

Just heard their cry,

And ridiculed their action,

That brought this inaction.

 

“In the world of professions,

The least one was this,

As none came forward,

For this, deemed backward”.

 

“What if?  Leg or head,

One and the same for the dead.

Dignity of labour, you’ll find,

Whatever job be, never mind”.

 

They took the coffin,

O’er their shoulders again,

Keeping in mind ever,

The dignity of labor.

 

~Rajaram Ramachandran~