Harijan
By agora
HARIJAN Alisha was born Gnarled and bungled On a workaday street. No one put a notice in the paper, No one sent pink new gifts. She was sent to special schools Where all were equally Ignored. She crept from sharpness Hiding Always hiding. She shaped soft shadows round her Like a breast Like so many others. She died Young and ugly, Unidentified. We did not know, We did not know - Alisha was a cosmic test - She was the daughter of the Christ - We did not seek her out. Now Wrapped in the rags of beauty She shapes us round her Like a breast Like so many others."Harijan" (children of God) was the term used by Mohandas Gandhi to refer to the dalits - the untouchable caste in India. In our own ways, we are all untouchable and abandoned, and we are all sacred Harijani, like Alisha. Some years ago I worked as a volunteer in a home for profoundly disabled children who were orphans - children abandoned and not likely to live to adulthood. These are the most special Harijani of all. I daresay a challenge to us all - find the special Harijani in our communities and lives, and care for them, and love them, and learn from them. Written November 14th, 2001 © on Nov 13 2001 11:25 PM PST 0 • 13
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"HARIJAN..."