"The Cheapest Thing!".

"The Cheapest Thing!"

   "The prize of this is very cheap!
   It is a faultless and spotless one!
   So fresh and attractive to keep!"
   Shouted the advertising one.

   The burning blazing sun above,
   The hot dusty sand beneath
   Within the empty cramping stomach
   My heart melted to watch this sight!

   The viewers all gathered around
   As the advertiser raised the voice
   The sales woman's eyes widened
   With the expectation of a high prize!

   "The money she needs so urgently
   Is the fare for her to cross the sea
   To forget the present suffering indeed!
   Now, the prize is almost free"

   No viewer turned out to be a buyer
   Heard I, no bidding or bargaining
   No movement nor even a whisper,
   But, the silence that was straining.

   The desperate depressed `sales mother'
   The tired, unpaid advertiser
   The `unwrapped' pearl that she held
   Made me wonder whether I was in `trance'

   Deep in the forest of `Jeyapuram'
   The widowed refugee woman
   Had hardened her heart to sell
   The `gift of God', her child!

   Though my purse the prize contained
   Though I had a womb that's barren
   Though I had a heart with compassion
   To own the child I was reluctant!

   Should my passion rob her sole companion?
   Should I rob the identity of her tiny infant?
   Should I undervalue the prize of the innocent?
   I left with heavy heart, and with confusion!

The witness of this incident, who wrote this poem, is Thaya Thiagarajah, Sri Lanka.