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Artwork by Anastasia Young, USA, done at Visthar, November, 2012
I see him sitting on the sidewalk, homeless and filthy.
I know that he is in great need, so I drop him money on my way past.
It was enough for some coffee, or maybe a donut.
I did a good deed by helping him out;
I now can go shopping without feeling any guilt.
As I headed back home I passed him again;
He stared into my eyes just as before.
I pretended not to see him and continued to walk,
But I was forced to stop when I heard him yell out,
“Think about your life and how you are living.
Could you have what you have
Without my kind of living?
I did not ask for the coins you gave this morning;
You assumed I needed because I was sitting.
Your coins do me no good, I need more than money:
I need you to stop living in luxury.
I don’t need your pity or for you to ignore me;
I need you to start getting to know me.
You see, you and I are one and the same;
We come from a system that should be shamed.
It tells you to buy, consume, and desire,
And forget about others who can’t get you higher.
The system encourages this type of action,
So the rich can get richer without any distraction.
You have been taught to care for you alone,
To protect what is yours and rightfully owned.
The system wants you cold, it wants you tough,
So then you can’t see why my life is so rough.
As the system tells you never to halt,
It tells me that my life is my fault.
I am to blame for my homelessness and hunger.
I deserve my life so I shouldn’t question or wonder.
I used to agree, and I used to believe
That poverty happened because of people like me.
But then I realized that people are good,
It’s just the system that makes them misunderstood.
Do you see what I’m saying? We are part of the system,
But it only works if we all listen.
It calls for the rich to keep the poor poor,
So that they can keep getting more and more.
The poor must be blamed for their poverty
So that they won’t fight for their liberty.
The system likes order and it likes to control,
But do you see what it’s done to society as a whole?
The system has failed; it’s time for a change.
Once we come together that can be arranged.
No more poor, and no more rich.
It’s time that we make this switch.
I know this message is so new,
But I thought I might get through to you.
Now you know and now it’s your choice,
To start a new life and or silence your voice.”
I stood in awe looking at this man;
He describes me well, though he knows me not.
Unsure whether to speak or to leave,
I knew one thing: Society must change.
I now realize the system has failed,
And if I don’t change I too will have failed.
But can I really give up this life?
This is all I’ve ever known, this is who I am, this is how I live.
My thoughts, my speech, my actions will all have to be reformed.
And since I am now conscious, I can make the change.
The real question is: Will I?
~ Anastasia Young, USA
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Artwork by Amit Deshwal at Visthar, June 2014
Dear Francoise,
After a long time I sat down to work on the first doll. I made an old woman working on a charkha, making thread for herself. I did not know what to make the head of. Finally, I made an oval shaped ball using paper mache. I also tried making hair using the threads but failed miserably. Thank you once again for teaching me and opening the door to this art form.
Regards, Amit Deshwal
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Artwork by Jude from Sri Lanka, done at Visthar, January 2015
Diptimayee, pencil jammer. Bhoomi Habba, Visthar, Bangalore, June 2016 JPG
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TO BE A MOTHER
I stared down the narrow path.
My heart trembles with fear
for my end is near.
cried with all my might
but it was a futile fight.
the path is too narrow
and the fence is too high.
With nowhere to go
and no one to call
I fall to the ground
hoping that I’ll never be found.
They beat me and shout at me
but I’ll not rise.
To my fellow masters, I never meant to be a bother.
But please allow me, if only for a moment, to be a mother
~ Cheng-Yang
Lee
Dedicated to Francoise Bosteels, for an inspiring exhibition, and
a young mother, for her courage
(This poem is based on a story about a cow who
refuses to be slaughtered. The workers were puzzled why she would not obey like
the others and sought advice from an experienced butcher. The butcher realised
that the cow was pregnant. After he led her outside to give birth, she
voluntarily walked down the path and accepted her fate.)
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