A Lonely Mother Poem by Venkateswaran Krishnan Sreenivasan

A Lonely Mother



Written from my experiences as a physician

POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
I am left alone, alone at ninety six
Stooping and walking on sticks
My limbs and spine are aching
And my frail body shaking

Hard of hearing human voice or noise
And aware at my age there is little choice
I read my holy books with poise
And try to keep my equipoise.

Out of breath when taking a step
Or rising from bed, I shout for help
Oft I forget I am left alone
To the care of a stranger night and dawn

Tossing in bed with itching or cramp
And sleepless at night with lighted lamp
I turn to her mercy for massage with cream
When she leaves me to sleep, again I scream

I have seven children; I loved them all
I couldn’t bear even to see them fall
Now where are they gone leaving me alone
I call for them but see not even one

My children and the home nurse are not the same
I can’t look at both with equal eye
The stranger’s touch I suffer with a sigh
To my children for comfort, I will always pry

My despair and sorrow will in an instant close
My children’s presence will be a balm for my woes
My sweet expectation is for my children to come
And bloom like a blossom on my bosom

My memory fails me but for the distant past
Of my children’s youthful forays
How long will its sweetness last
To keep me alive for many more days



To clothe and feed them well, I had no means
They were my wealth as toddlers and teens
And the prop in my old age to lean
And still my hope with all their sheen

Let my fate not befall any widowed mother
To languish in loneliness with none to bother
What sin did I commit to be sent to hell
But to bring up my able children well

The instinct of love that animals keep
Humans have lost and hence they weep
All their life and do not reap
The divine blessings for their heavenly leap
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