A mother's treasures

A Mother’s Treasures

By Rungeen Singh

I know, my child, I know. You have to try out your wings

And make a place for yourself in your profession.

Yes, yes, I know you have to go, but can’t you wait a bit?

No?Oh! All right, you can go but first just give me time

To collect the essence of your entity which as memories

Will later be valuable companions of my loneliness…

Let me select the essentials, my treasure, just for myself.

First…I must keep with me, your first cry, heralding

Your entry into my world, illuminating it with magic…

And then… the tender softness when as a baby

You held my finger with baffling strength

In reality, you were holding my heart in your grip

How I wished that you would never loosen your hold

But alas! This traitor Time does not stay still.

You stopped being my creeper and I let you grow…

Next to gather is the naughty chuckle of your childhood

Plus the bubbling giggles of your adolescence

Interspersed with shouts of unadulterated laughter

That I was blessed to be able to hear

The hilarity I must recapture to enliven my waning years.

And… soon the sinful howl of laughter was replaced

By the mature humor of your confident youth today

I will preserve it also to resound in my very being…

Also just let me keep the photograph of each expression

Of every nuance you ever felt. The yearnings and pining

The tears, the despair, the depressions and frustrations

Enough for the abundant albums of my memory…

The main winning trophies of your triumphs of values

I will frame to decorate the four walls of my existence

All this is a part of you that no one can take away

It is mine forever. Now your life is your own,

And later you will belong to your wife, so I have to let go...

But till now you are only mine and every moment

Of your growth and development is close to my soul.

I have the copyright which I will not share with anyone.

Whatever you are till now, is there in my heart and soul

You are a part of us, your parents. This no one can take away. Remember. We love you and will always love you.

As you foray into the world, we will be there for you.

So now you can go, my heartbeat, as I have preserved every breath of your existence that is so linked with mine

And now they are my treasures which will enlighten

Each moment I have to spend without you

I will always carry in my heart, my darling child

This valuable collection of many treasures

That will enrich my existence right till I die. I am sure

They will make the rest of my life, truly worthwhile.