Song Of The Boatman Poem by Raj Arumugam

Come Sir, I shall
take you across
safe and easy
in my small boat
across the river

we are all
crossing all the time
going places
and passing stages;
let me help you
on this one, Sir

a small fee is all I ask
and really it’ll be a
pleasant journey across;
you can put your
hands in the cool water
while I paddle us across


I was born here
in the sheds along the shore;
I learned my trade
as soon as I could walk;
all my life has been here
and this is where
I shall be all my days


It’s all good, Sir, for me
if I can do a good turn
as you pass by;
and so you might
also do me a good turn
at the end
giving me a deserved fee
that I can bring to my
wife and children


Come Sir, I shall
take you across
safe and easy
in my small boat
across the river








text©Raj Arumugam,2010; Illustration by François Balthazar Solvyns: A Collection of Two Hundred and Fifty Coloured Etchings: Descriptive of the Manners, Customs and Dresses of the Hindoos. Calcutta,1796,1799.