Special Section: The Moaning Mother (Unfolding Worlds)

Meghna Kaul

She walks staggering

on the desolate roads

her eyes in disbelief 

the cracked crust,

the arid air rustling through her dry hair

She looks at her progeny, the crown and glory of her creation

now reduced to stony limbs and stony eyes

the mother is shattered to see the sight

 her stunned child,

the loss of life,

where were life- giving rivers that flowed above her?

their soft caress

tickled her moist heart

how the rays above reflected on them

that dazzle display

but now the scroaching heat parched her thoughts

and pained her heart to see the thirsty milieu

the universe seems to have taken a turn

and the blue ball turned to grey

a swing hangs derelict 

where the merry giggles echoed

among the vast green stretch 

she had nurtured this with her head, heart and sinew

but her sons and daughters 

and their bizarre ways

how they devastated

their home and hearth in their bickering

many a time she moaned in pain

her bosom scratched with marks and lines etched 

to satiate the ego of her child

borders and bindings and the clash of mankind

but she bore all, succumbing to nourish his self

after all it was for her doting sons and daughters

but now she reflects and repents

she gave it all, she was too kind

the mirth, the life, the ecstasy of familial bliss

the pleasure that soothed her soul

were long lost in oblivion

nothing is left, only traces of memories

like piece of broken glass 

lying shattered 

and a sense of disbelief 

She startled to see a bird shrieking high

and thought was it worth to seek unassailable heights

when the earth below seems to sink from sight.

---

Setu, February 2025