A STOLEN WATCH AND A MATCHLESS ACT…

                                            ... Sublime tribute to all my teachers

My job or my name not the topic of concern here,

An invitee for my bosom friend’s nuptial function, 

Yours truly arriving early, on time to be there, 

My role, welcome the invitees for the reception . 

   

An old man in his late seventies, too  arrived on time, 

The sight of his gait and height, triggered my brain,  

He was our teacher in secondary school, in his prime,

Memory in rewind, I was rushing to meet him again.

We exchanged the civilities, I queried his memories, 

Firstly giving my years under his tutorship and all,

Reviving an incident in the class, stirring  his queries,

He recollected the same after a few minutes in stall.

A mate in my class, lost his new wrist watch one day,
A  watch, his first one  in those rare  days of yore,

Was  missing after the luncheon break to his dismay,

The teenager was yelling in agony as never before.

This teacher entered the class, clueless to this plight,
After a moment of silence, consoled the crying  boy,

Boys in my class ordered to stand up, I lost my sight,

 Oh! The watch in my pants, I was  a frightened toy.

Plead for a watch a week ago, my parents negated,

Found this watch from a play area, kept in my pant,

Teacher ordered  everyone to keep our eyes closed, 

Fears of  humiliation and theft  was too imminent. 

Teacher searched all and asked us to open our eyes,

The teacher all in smile, showed the shining watch,

He never looked at me, yet the boy got his lost gift,

Till this day, none yet knew who stole the watch.  

This was the teacher I met after two decades today,

Who saved my blushes, transformed my  character,

Was a different boy thereafter, never once astray,

This act of his taught me lessons, one after another.

Remember, once caught red handed in every  crime,

Demoralizes the victim before the society as well, 

After my schooling, I forgot  this man of sublime,

Until this day, his nobility indeed reigned my will.

    

As I narrated  the  incident, his face  did beam in joy,

I couldn’t hide my feels, how he traced  the snatch,

Knowing the truth, why did  he hide to save my day,

Teacher said, he too never knew who had the watch.

I was bewildered, asking him, how it did happen,

The teacher was calm and firm in his answer too,

How could one see, when his eyes were closed then,

None saw, yet the  owner got the lost watch too.  

 

The sculptor, here, shaped the raw stone to remodel,

Chiseling the edges, infusing life into it to perfection,

Correcting the flaws, instilling  moral values to citadel, 

My doubts answered for ever, I revere thy profession.