Distinctly admiring you were
That I cared to keep a big black dot
On your left cheek everyday
To ward off evil eyes that fell on you
O my darling! Are you tired today?
Mischievously wonderful you were
Messing up the house as a toddler
Singing ‘Mama’ ‘Mamaaaaaa’
‘Maa…’ and ‘mmmmm…’ the whole day
O my darling! Do you want to have anything?
A great story teller you are
Your expressive blabbers on pictures and
Innovative adventures with footwear
Are captured in frames in thousands
O my darling! Will you put your head on my lap?
The cars and bats, bricks and books
Lamps and plants, crayons and paper
All have a touching incident to narrate
The intelligence of my boy wonder
O my darling! Have you slept already my dear?
There is never a dull moment
In my life since your grand arrival
For God hath blessed me to be your mother
Though I am not the best you’ve got
O my darling! Will you remember me for ever?
P.S. I am shocked to read the following news item in today’s (10/03/2008) Gulf Daily News:
A newborn baby was found abandoned in a cardboard box next to a municipality garbage bin in Hamad Town, it emerged yesterday. The boy, believed to be a few days old, was discovered near Roundabout Seven by garbage collectors in the early hours of Saturday.
Bahrain is a place where pregnancy preventive measures are available whereas abortion is not. This news is highly disturbing for me because such incidents are a rarity here. Hence incoherent thoughts cross my mind…
• How will the mother be able to lead a peaceful life after abandoning her baby? Let us not ignore the fact that she took great care in keeping the baby in a cardboard box in spite of her compelling situation.
• How did she manage to hide her pregnancy and subsequent delivery?
• Is illegal abortion far better than abandoning the illegal new born baby?
• So many couples are dying to have a baby and are ready to undergo painful processes of artificial insemination, test tubes and surrogacy (in the extreme level). But accidental conceiving and abandoning are also happening side by side. Strange is the law of life….
• Why is the baby punished for no fault of his?
Urged by the overflowing emotions, I penned down the third part of ‘O my darling’ in haste. It is a sweet talk of a mother to her adopted child.
2 comments:
Dear Padmaja,
The news of the abandoned baby was indeed disturbing to me too and the questions that you had raised for is indeed very pertinent. When there are so many couples dying hard to have a baby, there are few women who conceive accidentally and throw the baby away in fear of many other factors. I am certain that such women will not be able to lead a guilt free life. Carrying a baby in the womb for nearly 9 full months and feeling every move of it is indeed a unique feeling that God has blessed women with.
Your poem is indeed a very beautiful one. It depicts the love of a Mother towards her son. Though we sometimes get fed up with their mischievous behaviour, none of us can imagine a life without them. Such wonderful is the creation of the Lord - a little child!
Shocking news.
Wonderful poem.
Thank you Padmaja.
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