To My Father Poem by Saratchandra Sahoo

With the approach
of a few sprinkles of rain
outside the smeared windows,
my thoughts flash back
to the days
when I was a school kid
in my teens.

Father,
holding me close to
your wispy, expanding bosom,
wading knee-deep rain water
flooding the dirt track,
with your look
stretched into infinity,
gathering dreams for me
all the way,
keeping time
with the drizzle
at regular intervals,
you trudged to the school,
with a tattered umbrella
over the head.

Sweating buckets
in sizzling summer;
dripping wet
in pouring rain;
frozen stiff
in freezing cold;
frostbitten
in freezing frost,
you piled up dreams
for my wellbeing and longevity
like wreaths of silvery clouds
studding your sky
with the semblance
of all the colours
of the rainbow.

Today when I feel
a few spots of rain
outside the windows,
the reminder of your tender care
like beads of sweat
still shine and sparkle
on every pore
of my mortal frame.


Original:
Amiyabhanu Dhal
English Rendering:
Sarat Chandra Sahoo