I found myself often asking my friends and acquaintances:
"I guess you dont want to go back to college. You will miss your mom na?"
This poem will be the first Rhythmspeak of the blog, dedicated to all my fellow hostellers leaving home for their college lives. How many of them would've thought deeply about their lives, about their parents and how they are growing old? This poem (whose first para was a status update on FB exactly 2 months before this poem's release date) will definitely open some thoughts.
Twas worth all the fuss you made
after all the exams I wrote,
whatever cometh the result,
you will still love me
and I'm coming home to you.
Now I get down to watch your face
brimming with tears of joy and reunion
I love you mom.
Pain gnawed at my heart benevolent
as I gazed, my mom sombre,
gingerly pouring her simple meal.
Up she looked, eyes filled with love limitless
and asked, "You want some?"
I shook and turned away my head,
rice in my hands and tears in my eyes.
I love you mom.
I watched her toil hard
all by herself, for me and my dad.
The icecream I brought
she relished, with innocence childlike
forcibly reminding me
of the care she had given unexpecting,
of the pains she had taken uncomplaining
for nineteen years to the present.
I love you mom.
I shiver to imagine the day
Death with his arrogant laugh
marches down on my mom, a frail self of her old.
I shall NOT despair and weep, instead
firm I shall stand up to him
"Strike me down, Take me, not my mother
because she is dearer to me than my life itself."
I love you mom.
"I guess you dont want to go back to college. You will miss your mom na?"
This poem will be the first Rhythmspeak of the blog, dedicated to all my fellow hostellers leaving home for their college lives. How many of them would've thought deeply about their lives, about their parents and how they are growing old? This poem (whose first para was a status update on FB exactly 2 months before this poem's release date) will definitely open some thoughts.
Twas worth all the fuss you made
after all the exams I wrote,
whatever cometh the result,
you will still love me
and I'm coming home to you.
Now I get down to watch your face
brimming with tears of joy and reunion
I love you mom.
Pain gnawed at my heart benevolent
as I gazed, my mom sombre,
gingerly pouring her simple meal.
Up she looked, eyes filled with love limitless
and asked, "You want some?"
I shook and turned away my head,
rice in my hands and tears in my eyes.
I love you mom.
I watched her toil hard
all by herself, for me and my dad.
The icecream I brought
she relished, with innocence childlike
forcibly reminding me
of the care she had given unexpecting,
of the pains she had taken uncomplaining
for nineteen years to the present.
I love you mom.
I shiver to imagine the day
Death with his arrogant laugh
marches down on my mom, a frail self of her old.
I shall NOT despair and weep, instead
firm I shall stand up to him
"Strike me down, Take me, not my mother
because she is dearer to me than my life itself."
I love you mom.
Lovely post .... loved it :-)
ReplyDeletea beautiful work of art....Tears ran down my face.... I used to say if anything ever happened to my mom, I would never recover....She died, and I guess I recovered.....and I love your soul, a man who can often say "I love you mom'.....
ReplyDelete@green speck TY man.Appreciate it.
ReplyDelete@Joanne Thats a lot coming from you. Thank you so much.
I tagged you for the Liebster Blog Award :-)
Deletehttp://livinglifegreenspeck.blogspot.in/2012/07/my-1st-blog-award.html
lovely emotions! keep writing.
ReplyDeletereally nice !!loved it !! :)
ReplyDeleteHello Aravind! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog!
Mom's the best! I can relate to this poem since I love my mother dearly.
Your writing style is impressive. I enjoyed reading this.
Have a good day!
Much appreciated Sui. Thank you fr your time and looking forward to continued interaction!
DeleteI love my mom too.. and she is aging as well and her health is not the greatest in the world. That's why I take care of her. It's my way of giving back to the woman who gave me everything.. I owe her my life and I don't regret one single minute of taking care of her.
ReplyDeleteI didn't always feel this way... I was young, naive and at times, a terrible daughter! I've tried to make it up to her.. and in many ways, I have but it could never be enough. Not in my book.
It's funny how when we're young, we despise our parents but then when we're older and more mature with kids of our own, we gain a new perspective on life. We see the world through our parents eyes.. and we see how wrong we once were..
tsk-tsk! Teenagers!! :)
Yeah Crystal, I totally agree with you.
ReplyDeleteDifferent times, different changes and views towards our parents!!
Thanks a lot for your time!
Dear Aravind, I do remember this poem.. but now, I felt the need to go back and read it again! Still just as lovely and comforting as the moment I first read it. Thank you for reminding me.
ReplyDeleteMy mom recently told me when she first went into the hospital, "Now Crissy, mama loves you and if something happens to me, Mama don't want you to get all hysterical..I want you to take care of my grandbabies..
I've no doubt that it's going to hurt but I pray that that pain will somehow be lessened knowing that I was there for her until the very end, and I did all I could for her to make her last few years on this earth worthwhile. That she knew how much I loved her. Thank you Aravind. Bless you.
smiles....warmly felt..those first brushes on your away...away from your fam...esp someone as special as your mom is to you...you def miss them...and it makes those homecomings all the more special...
ReplyDeletewhat a moving and heart-warming write...hope you read the poem to your mom, i bet she loves it..
ReplyDeleteVery touching!! I'd say that even if I wasn't a mother.
ReplyDeleteVery moving. Hope your mother gets to read this moving tribute
ReplyDeleteSo emotional...and that is what I love about poetry...and missing ones parents, a father or a mother, is perhaps one of the strongest feelings we can feel.Enjoyed your construction too...your voice is a unique one and made this engaging to read. thank you for sharing- stu mcp
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 11 I prayed to God in ernerst and I made a seemingly simple request,
ReplyDelete'Should either of my grandmother or gandfather have to die, would you please take me in their stead."
They did not deserve to die,7 years later my grandfather passed away and I reminded Him of the request made. I have since realised that if I were to take his place, a few others would follow suit, my grandparents being 1st in line to accompany me into my grave.
Death's arrogant laugh. That line stayed with me!
ReplyDelete