Juggling
by Sunil Sharma
I wish I were Anthony Gatto.
So that I could easily dominate a flood-lit stage
and move around with the grace of a ballet dancer
at the same time juggling balls and other props
with the agility of a panther
holding/tossing objects in the air
nothing ever falling outside the defined circles
I wish I were talented like him
so that I could go to a cancer hospital
and entertain the kids there and put
smiles on the angelic faces drained of vitality
or,
entertain the senior citizens abandoned forever
in the autumn of life
by their children in an antiseptic shelter.
I wish I were a juggler who would not ticket
any performance or ever dream for a celeb career
but simply desire to spread joy in the lives of the distressed
and depressed, the sick and the humiliated
through my clever acts for few hours!
PHOTO: Juggler Anthony Gatto.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Juggling fascinates. I often dreamed of becoming a juggler and serving humanity through such performances and not debase this art as a commercial activity, although I have no problem with professionals earning their livelihood through such a ticked activity or show. “Our Lady’s Juggler” by Anatole France was/is a major influence. This poem compensates for the lack of such a skill.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Based in Mumbai, India, Sunil Sharma is a widely published Indian writer. He has published 14 books: four collections of poetry, two of short fiction, one novel, one a critical study of the novel and co-edited six anthologies on prose, poetry, and criticism. He is a recipient of the UK-based Destiny Poets’ inaugural Poet of the Year award — 2012. Recently his poems were published in the UN project, Happiness: The Delight-Tree.
Silver Birch Press 