He just walked away
at the dead of the night-
leaving a family to grope in the gloom!
It was least convincing to me
Being a girl of seventeen!
I felt a sense of betrayal and the resultant bitterness
As if he had plotted for a secret journey
leaving me behind, as usual!
I couldn't cry, father's pet though I was;
Can anyone leave the dear ones
with no parting words…?
But I remember, how shattered my elder brother was,
as he kept wiping frantically my unshed tears,
With tears overflowing his eyes!
We sat near his body, more dead
than the benumbed one…….
But yet the crow's first caw and the new day break,
ushered us to a world
where our father was no more!
Later, alone in his room
I felt, how real helpless he would be
when death captured him unaware.
I cried for my poor father,
with whom I have never shared a secret or a sorrow…!
Yet there are memories
Culled a long way,
that make him dear…….
How proud he was over the marks
his children scored in the exams…
How strict he was that
we wouldn't waste time over trivialities……
So, for a long period when the gate creaked,
I swiftly hid my colour pencils
and switched off my radio, fearing his frown.
But now I know,
You sure loved us, dear father,
yet left us with a word of love untold
and with a caress never made;
I feel I miss that more, dear father,
than your lack of presence!
………………………………………
We can understand your feelings in the backdrop of your father's untimely death. This is all very sad. But, you know, certain things are beyond our control. The poem says a lot about your affection and love for your father and vice versa. Thank you for sharing. I couldn't cry, father's pet though I was; / Can anyone leave the dear ones with no parting words…?
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
So realistic a picture with no cover ups! Some fathers are quite strict with their children and at a young age they mistake it to be lack of love. Now with greater experience you realize that his harshness was just a cover over a soft, loving heart! You sadly miss him now and his premature departure is something that you can hardly reckon with. All what you felt at the time was a kind of numbness that you couldn't even shed a drop of tear. You still carry the weight of it. A very poignant write Girija!
What you have observed is very true, mam. I am more than thankful to you for the effort you took in reading and writing the comments. I am happy that a real poet like you, has found my poem as a very poignant write up. I am also happy that I found a place where there are some kind souls like you.......