My Mother Poem by chandra thiagarajan

Mother, mother, most beloved mother!
Oh, my heart's dearest mother!
Will there ever be another
One to replace you in one way or the other?

To dwell on you, even a little,
Makes my heart so very brittle;
Emotions gush and flood the mind,
The sluice of eyes, let the waters behind.

Such a splendid mother!
Such a wonderful mother!
A mother so lovely, neat,
A mother so honey sweet,

Is but hard to find,
As she is of a rare kind.
She'd shower love and affection,
But was a strict disciplinarian!

My darling mother was begotten
After a long penance, certain
Of my grand-parents'devotion,
And Lord Eshwara's benediction.

She was christened after Goddess Parvathi,
But being the apple of the eye,
She was aptly named 'Kannammal'
And was called 'Kannu'by all.

Though not complete in schooling,
She tread through life ever learning;
She'd nicely cook, read a book and sew;
And she was adept at many chores too!

At nineteen—a maiden, charming and coy,
She entered my father's house with joy;
But lo! There at the city of Secunderabad,
Her experience with her in-laws was sad!

Then one after one, like an acorn,
The four of us were born;
Three sweet girls and a bonny boy-
Her dancing dolls of endless joy.

My mother bubbled with happiness,
And was a milk of kindness;
She was service personified,
And a spirit of duty deified.

She taught us serene cleanliness,
And said it was next to Godliness;
Education to our raw minds, she did fetch,
And culture to carve in us, she did etch.

She cared for us proudly swell,
And she reared us extremely well;
She egged us on to truth and obedience,
And urged us to tread the path of perseverance.

Mother was a devout devotee,
Of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvathi;
She performed sacred poojas daily,
And would not eat before did her deity.

With father constantly shored
At the office of the Cantonment Board,
She was the captain to surely steer,
The ship of home to waters clear.

She proved to be an affectionate sister above
Her dear brothers and sisters in love;
To each one of them she was wonderful,
For she arranged their marriages, heartful! .

She was a true friend, in need
To ‘Mami'of Marredpalli indeed,
Both of them were ever so close
For one without the other was so morose.

One by one, with blissful marriage intent,
We were off to our homes in places distant;
Yet our lovely bondage was ever intact,
For the love was abiding in its impact.

Close on heels—one after another,
Grand children were born to mother;
It was her lot ne'er to herself bother,
For at thirty-eight she was a proud grandmother!

‘Aachi! ' ‘Aachi! 'With affection they'd call,
And she to them was their first pal;
To each one of the ten of them,
She was sure a pure love gem.

Happy days bounced there for mother,
At sister's house in ‘Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar';
With a fond family around her, so dear,
Interspersed with visits of people from far and near.
Lo! A dark cloud of head-ache, true,
Then descended on her sky of blue;
With throbbing pain, she suffered much,
Many a doctor offering little relief, as such.

Alas! It was not to be a passing cloud,
For the mantle of death did her shroud
In the small hours of a day-too soon—
In 1976-to be exact-on the fifteenth of June.

Though stepping into the youth of age,
Providence tore from His Book, her life's page;
All that was love and kind; good and glory,
Was pitted to dust and transformed to a story!

Mummy! Oh Mummy! Dear, my dear!
Your corporal frame has flown from here,
Your soul to rise to the Great Spirit above,
In harmony to mingle with Divine Love.

We, your darling children below,
Your foot-steps, we ardently strive to follow,
And pray to the Great Power Merciful
To rest your good soul in peace bountiful.