Thinking Of Blake At ' Mughal Darbar' Nowshera Poem by Mushtaque B Barq

Thinking of Blake at 'Mughal Darbar' Nowshera.

He came to take the order
thin, tall and worried
his face like his black tattered shirt
had no sheen.

Blake' s 'Chimney Sweeper'
in disguise, listening calmly,
a symbol of submission

but his eyes fixed
on my white shirt,
like his half attempted smile
I too fixed my gaze
but at the menu.

The aroma of fried rice
thinned and vanished
as the door of kitchen closed
turning my shirt
black as coal
and I became ' a chimney sweeper'
I could have donated
the shirt that he wished for.