Poetry Magazine, Saleha Merchant, March 2001

Poetry Magazine

Saleha Merchant

U.A.E.

A Mother's Plight

Here I sit and gaze
so very thoughtfully,
reminiscing the days
gone by.
A few days,
A few years,
Decade two,
pass by before the vision
of my memory.
I can see a child !
My child!!
A mere toddler then!!
Wasn’t he the child
who held my finger
so very tightly,
making me help him
take his very step!
Wasn’t he the child
whose face contorted
with fear of being lost
in a room full of strangers?
The eyes scanning desperately
trying to find my face,
my touch,
to feel relaxed.
Wasn’t he the child
who held the end of my gown
& tagged along
to be pampered?
Wasn’t he the one who
ran to me for smallest decisions
like the choice of clothes
or the bigger ones
regarding his subjects or
career line??!!
An Epitome I was for him
for strength, for security,
for guidance.
Yes!! That’s what I was!!!!
Today I sit here
Two decades later
& I watch the present
& think & feel!!
Isn’t he the same one
who looks at me
Unseeingly?
Isn’t he the one
for whom my
touch is unbearable?
Isn’t he the one
who finds my advices
are nothing, but,
meaningless talks?
Isn’t he the one
who feels he is
bound to me forcibly?
Isn’t he the one who
seeked security from
me to make me feel
insecure today??
He is my child!
What I did for him
was out of love for him
What he is doing today
is out of love
for someone else!!!
Do I blame him??
Do I blame the fate??
Or do I blame no one,
But ,
Take it as a mere
Gimmick of a
Generation altogether