Lazy hot afternoons sitting at Grandma's feet
Gazing up at her gentle face
Sucking on raw mango slices
Wincing at the sour taste
made sweet by the stories she narrated
Her limpid eyes smiling
as her gnarled hand stroked my hair
How I loved to lay my head in her lap
Eyelids drooping as I drifted into sleep
And dreamt of the magical world she weaved out of words
Every year I waited for summer
And long train journeys that took me to her
Her loving voice said my name in that special way
Each time I grew a little and to me it seemed she grew smaller
But her heart was still as big and her love still strong
And then, that last time
She lay immobile, a shadow of herself
Drawing one painful breath, then another
as life ebbed slowly away
I sat by her side, held her hand
Stroked her hair, kissed her cheek
And then I cried silent tears that ran down my face unchecked
Did I ever tell you, Grandma, how much I loved you?
© 2013 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved
Gazing up at her gentle face
Sucking on raw mango slices
Wincing at the sour taste
made sweet by the stories she narrated
Her limpid eyes smiling
as her gnarled hand stroked my hair
How I loved to lay my head in her lap
Eyelids drooping as I drifted into sleep
And dreamt of the magical world she weaved out of words
Every year I waited for summer
And long train journeys that took me to her
Her loving voice said my name in that special way
Each time I grew a little and to me it seemed she grew smaller
But her heart was still as big and her love still strong
And then, that last time
She lay immobile, a shadow of herself
Drawing one painful breath, then another
as life ebbed slowly away
I sat by her side, held her hand
Stroked her hair, kissed her cheek
And then I cried silent tears that ran down my face unchecked
Did I ever tell you, Grandma, how much I loved you?
© 2013 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment