It broke the silence of the room
Shattering it to pieces
I thought it must be an urgent call
I picked it up with a sigh.
“Now who could it be this hour of the night?”
I murmured to myself
When shrilly a voice called aloud
“Shall I reveal a secret?”
I scratched my head and thought awhile
“Who could it be this hour of the night?”
“Hello,” once again resounded the voice
Until I recollected “Oh this was some friend
Of long ago met and forgotten”
“Yes, hi,” said I and paused awhile,
“I do remember you dear, but why do you
Call so late at night is everything O.K. my dear?”
“Yes, it’s late I know it is but this I must share for sure
Your long lost friend’s daughter has secretly married
A boy she knew before!”
I banged the phone and pulled my hair
Grossly agitated
My mind swirled in and out
At the atrocious jargon related
How dared someone to burst and announce,
Or share a ’secret’ with you
When a personal matter is a private matter
And no one’s business too,
Beware, good friends,
Each one and all
“Don’t lend ears to gossips at all.”
~Shobha Diwakar
Jabalpur, India
It’s true people are more interested in other people’s affairs than their own. They are such big inquisitive bees that they have no idea what their own kids are doing under their very nose. Their gossiping stops only when their own family lands in deep waters of something horrible.