L'Enfant Terrible Poem by Syed Ahmed Shah

That urchin from the gutters
Throws stones at your house
He may not look so pretty
But certainly not a mouse
The quintessential devil
Drowns your letter box
After a ruckus in the street
He darts like a grinning fox
Hate him if you want to
Call him by any name
But one thing is for certain
That he'll bust your double game
He'll not make it to twenty
And perhaps even less
But he hardly gives a damn
A couple is all that he needs
But once he is in the garden
One thing is for sure
With fire in his tail
No one is secure
Save your precious dhoti
From the naughty kid
For this terrible young ‘un
Is the last thing you’d need..
For us all in the streets
He is a load of fun
With the Baccha and the Baniya
It is him in there we want
A slingshot on his shoulders
And a whistle in his mouth
It is going to be wholesome
The next parliament…

© Syed Ahmed Shah.