Farewell Father! Poem by Anurag Talukdar

By the time these lines come out in print,
You would be just a memory.
Most people will be indifferent,
But I will remember,
At least once in a while.

When I was five,
Late at night,
I would pretend to be fast asleep,
Till I hear the sound of your approaching bike,
A blissful smile will run across my face.

When I would wake up in the morning,
I would hardly find you,
For the city where you worked was three hills away,
The slithering road was treacherous,
And I prayed for your safety,
Every single day.

When I was fifteen,
I was tired of you.
I wished that you die soon.
I wanted the bike, I wanted the car.
There was a monster in me,
Ready to unleash,
Only you daring to resist.

When I am thirty five, now,
The monster has been long obliterated.
A father myself,
But not that dedicated or strong.

We now live thousands of miles away,
A phone call once a week,
That's what holds the fragile bond.
Your ears now weak,
I sometimes have to scream,
People around complaint,
As the noise makes them disturbed.
You speak now much slower,
Often testing my patience.

I wish I could visit you more often,
But I have many excuses not to.
I sincerely wish your ordeal ends soon,
A painless death,
Once and for all.
Life that is not extraordinary,
But could have been much better.
Nevertheless, I am glad to be your son,
Even though I have been selfish all too often.
Farewell Father!