INSURANCE

The mother fussed over the child-while the girl sat quiet and ignored.
The baby boy brought festivities at home his sister had never seen before.
She sat bemused- listening neighbors congratulate her parents.
At last a son was born to them- they had got insurance.

They could now dream of happy old age -the son providing haven.
The daughter was but a liability borne till marriage happened.
So the pattern emerged- the little brother got more than his due.
The sister learnt to suppress her needs- her place was the last in the
queue.

And then one day she was married off-the parents heaved a sigh of relief.
Their duty done, it was their turn to enjoy a life untouched by grief.
The daughter was terribly alone, young and frightened in the new environs
She yearned for the parents -who readily forgot her and felt no remorse.

In the course of time- her brother grew up-he got a job with good income.
The parents' labor had borne fruit-they were proud- he was so handsome.
The girl was happy for her parents' sake; they would get the awaited
respite.
Alas! There seemed to be twist in the tale- the boy had other ideas in mind.

He found the parents unfit in the life he envisioned for himself.
So he took off -leaving them behind to fend for themselves.
The girl's eyes grew misty when she learned of their tale of woes.
They paid the premium right enough, yet insurance failed to follow course.

Had rationality prevailed before-they would not have felt so cheated now.
Their warped thinking produced warped results- so many lives were unhappy
now.
The girl could have got a chance of freedom; the boy had not felt so
suffocated by duty.
The parents themselves would have been content and not begging as of now to
be happy

~Jayanti Sinha~

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