Your biometric hardly matches

I touch you now and then,

Over a cold glass door. Moist,

Now and a little dry when

The cold rushes past, cracks

On my hand.

Then there are the scratches,

As I dig through clods of earth. Moist,

Now and a little dry when

The dry wind rushes, cracks

On my land.

You say, why do you have scratches?

Your biometric hardly matches,

Go now and come back in a week,

Put some Nivea lotion if you want,

Smooth your fingers with some magic trick.

My land is drier now, hands a little moist.

I put on oil and touch the glass door,

And again, it would not open.

I go back, and try no more.

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Aadhaar has been a boon for the government. For many on the other side, this technology has been a barrier to a good life. Entitlement rejections is a commonplace instance. In this poetry I wonder how it must feel for a poor farmer to have his entitlement rejected as his ‘biometric hardly matches’.