Souvenir Poem by Valsa George

As I sat on my desk,
Hurrying with my pent up work,
A scrap of paper, left uncared,
Clumsily scrawled by tender hands,
Swept me right off my feet.
Distressing thoughts came undulating,
With a wave of remorse, surging over.

I see you darling, before my eyes,
Lying still in wreaths of blooms,
Your eyes so peacefully closed,
The delicate curls, bordering your face,
The innocent smile fading from your lips,
In a coffin, amid wailing friends and kin,
Like a vanishing dream, you lay.
In deep quiet, your body reposed,
Unmindful of everything around.

I still recall the day it occurred.
I was impatient with you as you dawdled,
With toys and trinkets, strewn all around.
I irritably motioned to clear the mess,
And rattled off like the stern sergeant,
To get dressed and be off to school.
You departed in a shuffle,
Your face cast down to hide the hurt.

Before the wall clock struck nine,
Before the tiffin packed and kept,
You came dressed in grey pinafore,
Your long hair braided on either side,
And flashing ribbons tying the ends,
With the satchel, lying heavily on your back.


As you were about to leave,
You turned sheepishly to my side,
And shouted out in tremulous words,
‘Bye Mommy, Bye……! '

Never I guessed it be a parting knell!

Before long, like a lightning came
The news of the school bus colliding with a truck!
A chill of fear ran down my spine,
Awful thoughts went spinning through.
It crushed my spirits, as I learnt,
Late that evening, you were gone!

Each time as I rehearse the scene,
A thousand razors cut through my vein,
Smile has long deserted my face,
Never a tear runs down my cheeks.

I fear, oh I deadly fear,
Over the humid darkened sky,
The rain clouds, never shall trail!

Oh my child, will you come,
Just once to throw your arms around,
And kiss me on my hollow cheeks,
To break loose the clouds in torrential flow?

How in vain, I yearn for a life,
To start anew, all over again,
With the same beats, resonant and ringing,
With the same rhythm in every step.

Picking up that souvenir of love,
Clumsily scribbled by tender hands,
So thoughtfully gifted on Mother's Day,
I cried my heart out to naught,
Till my eyes were reddened to blood,
Bereft of another dropp to shed.

Feeling relieved,
I went back to work,
With the pain allayed…
With my heart purged…
Like the clean, azure sky,
after the rains!