Diatribe

I was one of the invitees at a house-warming ceremony. The owners performed the rites under a shamiana that extended from the gate in front of the house to the back. Under its shade the owners served dinner to the invitees who ate in batches. I finished mine and found a place near the gate to relax and watch the people milling about. A ragamuffin appeared outside the gate just behind me. I saw him ogling at the diners. He soon launched into a diatribe. Mouthing expletives, the urchin vented out his ire at the abundance of food so close, and yet so far out of his reach. Someone from inside shouted to shoo him away. Only in an unjust world can abundance and scarcity live side by side? Karma justifies it, politics sustains it and the individual goes through hell.