The Tailor

Watching the children walking along the road to and fro their schools My heart leaps high wishing to join their merry-making, cheerful funs Realising I am not made of flesh and blood my poor heart retreats in dismay Here on the veranda of this textile shop I have been in deep penance for long My master will return once with added vigour: death is a temporary absence ************ There lies on the veranda of the textile shop the old sewing machine, Rusty, dusty and untidy awaitinga successor to the bereaved old tailor On my way to the school I had seen the old tailor always busy behind it With a lighted cigar between his lips and totally lost in his work So skilled a tailor was he that he was liked by all his customers Sleepless nights and restless days made his creations famous around Freshness smelling dresses he made might have enchanted childre Bridal robes he designed might have added undefined beauty to bride College girls in his fashion stitching might have scored much from friends He is no more and the machine lies there as the monument of his artifice