Do you recall the time when I came home crying because I flunked an exam?
I was consoled and hugged dearly; by you ma!
The time when I was unsure about life and gave up on myself?
I was told I am one in a million; by you ma!
The unreasonable demand for things I (didn’t) need,
You couldn’t buy me the world, but it was all compensated for; by you ma!
I was a fleeting reflection on the long mirror in your saree,
I was a spitting image of you; ma!
Those midnight scolding sessions ‘cause you caught me reading books in the dimly lit room,
I am a kooky bibliophile, because of you; ma!
My chubby frostbite fingers in the slightest winter,
My colossal eyes without the kohl,
The twilight like color of my skin,
Everything in me is only a part of you; ma!
You are my subliminal thought when I am somber,
Because only you reside even in the darkest corners of my heart; ma!
You were the proudest in the crowd through all my eccentricities,
You didn’t bat an eyelid when I failed,
You are my wall, my esprit; ma!
Time walks in a paradoxical path,
I could see the lines; ma!
You wanted things to slow down just a little bit,
I could feel the intensity flickering but you still looked as glorious; ma!
Time is running like a beautifully written cursive fable,
And ours will always be the abstruse saga; ma!
Don’t you worry; ma!
We have more to savor,
Countless tales to live,
And although you are miles apart now,
Every time I look at the moon,
Your bed time stories come rushing back,
And when the breeze brushes my hair aside,
I know it’s you; ma! miles apart yet so close.
Tanushree Srivastava 