From the Heart of A Mother

Last Updated on August 6, 2024 by Soumya

My son sleeps a sleep so tight,
As I gaze into the calmness beyond his closed eyes;
An innocent soul so full of love,
Bereft of hatred, bereft of lies.

He shifts into a deepening slumber,
Unaware of the world that stares at him;
A world that has lost itself to the battles of man,
A world so melancholy, and so grim!

He knows not if he is a Hindu or Muslim,
He knows not if he is black or white;
He knows not if he is the best or the worst,
He knows not if he is the left or the right.

He revels in his ignorance and gives me a toothless grin,
While I try to make sense of the news of the day;
Deadly riots, chemical weapons,
Stories of terror and feelings, betrayed!

Do we not realize the futility of it all?
Of battles that we create and die for?
Of differences that we perceive in fellow humans?
In caste, creed, and color?

Why don’t we understand the uniqueness of things?
Why don’t we see beauty in variety?
Why must we think that we are the best?
Why is it that others should die while we must live?

We march ahead to save our faith,
We move to the words of an inspiring sermon;
We kill, we slay, we rejoice and celebrate,
We forget that WE created gods and WE created religions!

O’ Child! I wish everyone had your innocence,
Everyone was as naive as you;
So the world could be a better place,
The world could be as pure as you.

You will probably study the 50th state of India,
And will have a long list of wars to remember;
You will probably never know some minorities,
And some diversity you will never encounter!

O’ Child! I wish I could give you a world so free,
I wish I could give you a world so nice;
A world where dreams would be for all of us,
A world that would be worth living a life!