- Country of Origin: Pakistan
Writer’s Note: This poem is about my visit to a slum in Faisalabad where people mostly live in a dirty environment and do jobs like collecting garbage. They sell the plastic goods they find and store the garbage near the tents where they live. They don’t know how to dispose of this garbage so they keep on throwing it near their tents as these are open places. Their children grow up in the same dirty environment. When I visited the slum, I found myself feeling superior about how much cleaner I am than these people. But actually, they are the ones collecting our garbage. So, these people are not ugly; the real ugliness lies in our mindset. They are just holding our things after we throw them away.
Once I came across a Faisalabad slum,
Garbage, mosquitoes, and flies all sum.
Residents welcomed, inviting me to come,
I hesitated, reluctant to sit,
Forgetting it’s my own garbage, thrown in a pit.
A dirty hand offered a handshake,
While a clean hand took a break.
The sun blazed down like a raging fire,
Amplifying my thirst, igniting desire.
A dirty glass offered me cool water,
Making my ego face a slaughter.
I felt ashamed a bit,
Dug in the same garbage pit.
Realized under the same sky,
We all share the same night.
I learned that day, behind a slum,
It’s me standing like scum.
Once I came across a Faisalabad slum.
Thank you to Molly Corso for their inspired edits on the piece.
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Hanzla Mehmood
I am Hanzla Mehmood, a creative writer since my school days. I write about various social issues, history, politics, and current affairs, expressing my thoughts, ideas, and observations in words. I write boldly and openly, never compromising on the truth or to pressure from external forces. My goal is to modernize the moral standards of our society and raise awareness about the common problems people face from birth to death. My writing has been published in Yuvoice.com previously.
One Comment
M.Abdullah
Amazing you had realistllcaly described the situation by using your inner artist
Keep it up🌷❤️