The Tao Of Pranav Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

The Tao of Pranav
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
Pranav is an Indian name meaning Om
Which is a sacred sound and symbol
According to Hindu mythology,
Pranav is said to be Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva all together
As my mother had told me, it is the beginning of creation
And as Chinese philosophy dictates
A person balancing the yin and yang in oneself
And making his "The Way" in the world
Is said to live by the Tao of Pranav;

Incidentally, Pranav is our son and I use rhyme
To express my role in his time
And mostly, I call him Puttu, the little one
Although he towers over me and is 6ft 2inches tall;

Lunch, lunch, for Puttu's lunch
I have a hunch
That he may want a grapes' bunch
Or something with a crunch
So he can read Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch.

For he is a growing boy
Who also needs protein based soy sauce
In vegetable spring rolls
And spicy Gobi Manchurian
For I think he should be the candidate
For whom the bells toll;

But he is a barbarian who likes grilled meat
Like hamburgers cooked on the barbecue grill with fries
Or spicy shawarmas from Jerusalem or Ali Baba's or the restaurants near U of Toronto
And Korean grilled meat near his campus
And he is a young man, a 19 year old now;

He has picked up his first paycheque
For he is working for this month
And doing summer school
And I lost the rhyme
But the rhythmic melody of my love for him
Still would like to fuss over him
And I do this, to a certain measure.

Acknowledgements:
1. The internet
2. Oxford English Dictionary