A Good Mother, A Bad Mother!

The call was running, meeting in progress,

Praapti playfully went, "Appa, IceKeeem!"

Prasanna was engrossed in the discussion,

And inturn, we both did not speak to him.

Call over, he asked,"Is IceCream at home?"

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you before",

Handing over the last two spoons of the family pack,

I said, "Share with beti, no more!!"

..................................................

My mind is at peace, I sleep a good night,

If Praapti that day ate properly,

Me, who never cared about the food,

Now reads the ingredients thoroughly.

The healthy diet is important for all

I keep repeating to everyone on a single date,

This is the mother who in her hostel days,

Would put aside the insects, and finish the rest of the plate!!

................................................................

The once clean house, if not picture-perfect

Is now mostly a complete mess

You need to be careful to avoid knocking something while walking,

Because I am happy to bother less.

Feel happy to look at the scattered toys,

I plan which game to play next,

Prasanna's attempts to keep the place clean is not fruitful,

When two of us while messing are at our best.

......................................................................

I always had an affection towards money,

Bank Balance mattered, let me confess,

The money management I was once so proud of,

Has now taken a very different face.

Having one pair of slippers, getting another

Was according to me a waste of money and time,

This mother fondly accumulated 5 pairs for her baby

And yesterday again short listed a new design.

.............................................................

My hair is scattered, dress sense a disaster,

In my wardrobe, hardly a proper fitting dress can I find,

I am a complete failure when it comes to attire,

But the little one does not seem to mind.

I call her 'Mammo', and she calls me 'Mamma',

And we keep calling each other in various styles,

Irrespective of the dress, the neatness,

We are happy to continue this play for a while.

...........................................................

The passers-by have started stopping for a while,

They smile and wave before they go,

Anyways, we are always at the door,

Running behind the cats as they show.

This is a big change I think,

When the people tell the names of their pets and smile,

This mother never had known before marriage,

The name of her next-door neighbour erstwhile.

..........................................................

The recent past is making me guilty,

That time I shouted at her,

The feeding would not stop despite all efforts,

And I was annoyed forever.

I would scold her, pretend to ignore her,

And once I left her to cry,

It took me a few days to accept and realize,

That for the mother to live, this adamant self was to die.

.................................................

Anyhow, I had no right to torture her,

It did not dawn on me before,

Thanks to WHO which announced,

'The world average weaning age is four.'

Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night,

And look at her in the deep sleep,

"We will sort it out together", I say to her,

The rest of the world, please sleep!!

.................................................

A good mother, a bad mother,

I have no potential to decide,

Can just ensure that this responsibility entrusted to me,

With Love, will be taken care of all right.

These days of fun will quickly pass,

I am aware that they will pass too soon,

Let me record it forever in this small poem,

Before they are already gone...