My Mother at 66

I was going through a text book of English Literature when i came across this beautiful piece of poetry. I thought I should make it a part of this blog. The following poem is by Kamla Das, one of India's famous poets. Notice how beautifully she captures the ageing of a mother and then contrasts it with childhood. The whole poem is in a single sentence punctuated by commas depicting a single thread of thought wandering around the energy and joys of childhood and then the frailty of the old age.

Driving from my parent's home from Cochin last Friday morning,

I saw my mother beside me,

doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpsed and realised with pain

that she was as old as she looked 

but soon put that thought away, and looked out at Young Trees sprinting, 

the merry children spilling out of their home, 

but after the airport's security check, standing a few yards away,

I looked again at her, 

wan, 

pale,

as a late winter's moon and felt that old familiar ache, 

my childhood's fear,

but all I said was, "See you soon Amma",

all I did was smile and smile and smile...... 

 

Image source : http://www.blipfoto.com/blog/2012/09/14/this-week-in-blipfoto-want-to-be-a-fashion-photographer#large