Cars come to a standstill
on the road
at a green signal.
Green means Go,
but a cow has decided to
stop
and contemplate -
whatever cows contemplate about.
Before it has a chance to moo,
horns honk and blare
some in short bip-bips,
some long beeeeps,
varying degrees of impatience.
A bike carrying four
passengers, none wearing helmets
criss-crosses through autos
and buses,
like a fish swimming upstream in one-way
traffic heading south.
A car nearly hits them
so they stop to curse
and wave their hands angrily
while a pedestrian taps into
a new found desire to stop and
smell the roses -
figuratively, of course,
there is only the stale smell
of morning fish, sweat, and blood
boiling.
He meanders in slow motion to
cross the road.
Perhaps he saw the cow, and decided
the grass is greener
on the other side.
People spill out of
buses that veer dangerously on the side
of being too close to
parallel to the ground.
They stop for nothing -
no cars, bikes or red lights -
but maybe for a cow
that has decided to
stop
and contemplate
at a green signal.
About this Poem
These things actually happen, but only on the roads of India. I am always most infuriated when I'm driving because a minimum of three of these things (among others) is always happening. People cross the road like they are walking in the park, there's always someone riding or driving on the wrong side of the road and somehow with bikes and pedestrians, even if they're breaking the rules if something happens it's always your fault, if you're in a car. And the worst - literally the second the signal turns green, at least 5 people are honking for you to move.
I wanted to bring out the frustration of this more but this poem turned out satirical instead.
But here's a picture of a cow crossing the road, for you.
