cucumber boy (a poem)

Cucumber boy~

He has nothing, but cucumbers, to offer

neatly sliced with pickles on the side

Thus he carries his life around

To passers by in four-wheeled carriages

He has nothing but cucumbers to offer

A timid smile as he makes his offerings

At the altar of civilization

A quick scan through the carriages

and he offers himself to this beast, to this god, to this absurdity

They define his very existence, they give him purpose

they keep him hanging

for how long-one cannot tell

For him, this is his life

the one that has been dealt by the laws of civilization

By the order of the day

What goes on beneath those eyes, one cannot tell

I witness the absurd exchanges and play my part

I refuse to take his life and thus I deny his existence

I deny him his life

Within a flash he disappears into the carriages behind

But his spirits they haunt me for long

asking me why I denied their offerings, why I denied him his life

Slowly and suddenly he creeps up to the carriages

Neatly sliced with pickles on the side

Thus he carries his life in his hands

And yet this enigma, this nothingness, this ghost, has nothing to offer

The poem is about a peddler boy selling cucumbers at a highway stop. The poet expresses his dissatisfaction with the work the boy has to do, and perhaps more with how the society treats and thinks of him. The poet also hints that he does not accept life to be fair and that the meager job the boy has to do to earn a living is absurd when thought of by the poet. On one hand the poet could have thought of the poem during his experience. On the other, he could have written the poem out of guilt of not having bought the cucumbers offered by the boy. Either way, the poet symphatizes with the boy’s plight. Various thoughts and ideas of the poet have been implicitly stated throughout the poem. Life could simply mean wealth in some places and hence the boy’s life would be worth the cucumber he carried around in his plate. On the other hand since selling the cucumber is his means of life, it could thus thought to be his life. Besides the poets own views, the poet also very vaguely expressed what he thinks to be the views or attitudes of other people in the carriages. He expresses that since most people only view the boy as a cucumber seller he has nothing worth of interest to most people. Hence the boy is thought to be right at the bottom of the social and economic ladder. More frighteningly the poet also realizes that he too belongs to this very group that shuns the boy. In addition there is a theme of futileness that runs through the poem. Perhaps this could more so reflect some futility in the poets own life---socially, economically. The poet expresses absurdity in the way the boy’s life has to be spent and the unfairness and inequality in life for some people and how it is readily accepted.