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When I was a kid, I would
Hug my mom a thousand times,
Wrap my arms round her as she stood
Reciting for me nursery rhymes.
I would ask her so many questions
And she would answer patiently,
I would keep on talking non-sense
And irritate my mom blatantly.
I would smash the toys given by her,
Scatter the things all over the place,
Tear new dresses with a scissor,
Smear talcum powder on my face.
I would not allow her to put off the lights,
Scribble her arms with my nails,
Irritate her at late hours of nights,
Till she would narrate fairy tales.
With 100 degrees of fever
My mom would bake cake for me
With all her endless endeavor
Just to make me a bit happy.
She would spend sleepless hours
To make me sleep cozily,
Pour her love like the monsoon showers
Sing wonderful lullabies easily.
With a handful of food she would
Run after me in the room
Happy were those days of childhood
Nothing ever seemed gloom.
At school I used to wait till the bell rings
As my mom would come to take me,
I felt the greatest wealth her smile brings
Setting all my worries free.
Another morning would arrive,
Mom would comb my hair and iron my dress,
Make me ready for school bus drive,
With her warm and affectionate embrace.
Tiffin time would be full of pleasure
Having the food cooked by mom,
Which was a delicious treasure,
Mind blowing, simply awesome.
In my exam, with the highest marks
I would await my mom’s coming.
Give her the news to discover her eyes’ sparks
With hopes of my brilliant upcoming.
Days passed and months too
Creating a distance between us
I became self-centered as I grew
My mom’s heart broke like a glass.
When I would go to college after school,
She would still want to accompany
But I said it would be shameful
If no one had bodyguards and I had any.
When I would return in the evening
Mom would wait for being caressed,
I would ignore her yearning
It would make me embarrassed.
I would chat with my friend
Hours after hours over the phone,
Mom would wait till the day end,
But I would not talk, making her alone.
I would remember any day except her birthday
Forgetting how she cooked for me when ill,
Yet with no complains she would stay
In her room taking sleeping pill.
She would wrap me with a blanket
To protect me from the cold;
Even in such an unnoticed state
She would not carp my negligence untold.
Days passed and months too
I became a wife and a mother,
I realized my fault as my child grew
Into a lady and didn’t bother.
She ignored me all the same
Depriving me of a daughterly touch.
My heart was full of guilt and shame
That I had hurt my mom so much.
One fine day I went to her
The old lady whom I abhorred
In a bed lay my mother
Sick with bed sores and ignored.
She was in her last breaths
I cried and cried seeking forgiveness
Her tear drops poured like cascades
Her eyes closed in flimsiness.
I hugged her as I did when I was a kid
Offered her a forehead kiss
Told her ‘I am sorry for my misdeed’
But she entered the abode of eternal peace.
(All the characters in this poem are fictional and bear no resemblance with anyone living or dead.)
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