Do I Have hope!

Yes, I do !

Seeing complete darkness
No wavelengths reflecting back
Feeling powerless
And hopeless
Driven to an identity crisis
They call me visually compromised
Do I have hope?
Yes, I do!

Non- traversing sound waves
Silence does have a sound!
But what is sound?
Even adder is hard of hearing, I heard.
Does he struggle for existence?
Do I have hope?
Yes, I do!

Neurotransmitters go haywire
I can’t differentiate food from the soil!
Why do I eat my own digested waste?
Why do I live?
More questions than answers!
Do I have hope?
Yes, I do!

Left to die on the road-
Reason not known
Birthdate unknown
Parents unknown
More unknowns than knowns.
Do I have hope?
Yes, I do!

I am not alone, you see
We are one hundred and twenty-three
For the blind, the deaf sees
For the deaf, the blind hears
To the mentally challenged polio afflicted teaches
We all toil in the fields
We all teach each other
Do we have hopes?
Yes, we do!

We school ourselves
We cook ourselves
We are not dependent
We created our universe
Our confidence is our hope
Our trust is our hope
Our belief is our hope!

We are not bastards anymore!
We do have a father
He is not merely our caretaker
He is our great teacher
He is Shankar baba Papalkar!

And why do some people do what they do?
Only they know the answer!

• Nandkishor Shingne

( I met Shankar baba Papalkar at his place on a tiny hillock called Wazzar, near Paratwada in Amravati district, Maharashtra State. The only question I asked myself was- why do people do what they do? Sitting on his cot, unkempt beard, dressed in kurta and pajama, all his kids, whom he has given his name, playing around him. There were deaf, blinds, and mentally challenged. He even has marked a place near his hut. He wants to be buried there after his death. So that he would be near his children all the time, even when he is no more. You can find more details about him on Google.
I salute him!)