Award-winning Author and Poet, Ali Ashhar, shared his father’s day special poem this father’s day. He opens up on the role of art and its significance in expressing cultural values. Delivery Boy is a tremendous piece of art reminding us of father’s quintessential role and what life brings further post his departure. It simultaneously sheds light on the challenges of poverty in the society and a resilient mindset led by father’s legacy.
Here’s the heartfelt poem reminding us of the beautiful father-son bond:
Delivery Boy
The rain has started bucketing down.
As the delivery boy tries to find a shelter
his cellphone starts buzzing constantly;
he picks it up with a heavy heart.
Subsequently, a flashback evokes within
as the raindrops touch him:
the departure of his father way before time.
He contemplates:
how could he be late in fulfilling his responsibilities?
A hungry mother anticipates his way.
He garners his day’s wage and buys food.
Upon his arrival
his mother asks
had he taken his dinner?
To which he replies with a
beautiful lie on his tongue
and true love in his heart
reminiscent of the fact that
his parents did the same
over the years—
and now it’s his turn.
About Ali Ashhar
Ali Ashhar is a poet, short story writer and columnist from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is a bilingual poet writing in English and Urdu language, but primarily writes in English. He was an academically bright child during his school days and had keen interest in literature. His writing stint began during his college days as a literature student. He is an internationally-acclaimed author who has won several international literary awards with his writings being published in 20 countries around the globe. He is the author of two poetry collections, Mirror of Emotions (Notion Press, 2021) and Across the Shore (Zorba Books, 2024). Following the release of his debut book, he was chosen as the Best Debut Author for the year 2021 by The Indian Awaz and was the recipient of a Foxclues India Prime 100 Authors Award, Elite Book Awards and Rising Stars Award. Apart from it, he has been named in the list of winners of several national and international writing competitions organised by Loft Books London, Delhi Poetry Slam, S7 Poetry and others. He has done podcasts for several literary organisation and shot a You Tube video in 2024 for a campaign organized by University English, United Kingdom (a campaign supported by the University of Oxford).
