The proverb, “God could not be everywhere so He created mother” is one of my favorite. A mother’s love is virtually impossible to be described, for nothing can come close to the love that a mother has for her children.
It is a fact that there is No Substitute for the love and care of a mother in this world. However, the ordeals a responsible father from a middle class Indian family undergoes cannot be ignored.
Here is a heart touching poem written by my colleague Mr. Henthai Phom, which rekindled my memories of all the pains my father and mother had to undergo to make me what I am today. I hope this poem will inspire and touch you all in the same way it touched me.
MY FATHER HAD A DREAM TOO
I was born on a cold January night
When I could perceive things
I saw my father building his house
Taking all care; collecting all materials
Laying brick by brick, cementing them
And there stood what we call’d HOME
Then he bought his old car
He loved it. Rode it on Sundays
Drove us to school; rode us to fields
He loved servicing it
It was a part of him!
I went to school
Learned A B C’s
He was happy when I could spell ‘DADDY’
He started dreaming dreams about me
He no longer dreamt of building house-
And buying cars
I was his dream
I went to college
Started wearing jeans; he stopped buying new formals
I wore snickers: he wore slippers
My demands grew; he began to withdraw
I grew fatter; he became thinner
I became ambitious; forgot I was his dream
I got job
Married
Had children
I built my own house; bought cars
Started dreaming dreams about my children
But Alas! My father had a dream too
Perhaps he might have wanted a bigger house
Buy the latest car in fashion
Have fridge and a color TV
Watch his favorite team play football
Perhaps his own park
Perhaps his own school
Aya! Did I eat his dreams?
Did I live his dreams?
I forgot my father had a dream too
(T. Henthai Phom)
Very touching, but not very realistic..
ReplyDeleteI would hate to be someone's 'dream' i am very much real, no thank you.
What's with all the expectations? His father probably did the same to his grandfather...because you grow up and have a life of your own that is how it is..
Least we can do is get older and write some silly emotional poem called 'my father had a dream'
This silly emotional poem as you have termed is an expression of deep gratitude from a son to a father. It shows the realization of many a man to the sacrifices that parents have to go through to bring up their children. Realistic it may not be but it invokes the emotions of love and gratitude in us which is the sole purpose of the poem. Poems are the penned feelings of the emotional flow of the poet and it need not be realistic.
ReplyDeleteTruly a heart touching poem...any sensitive person will understand the depth of emotion communicated and find reason to appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteThank you ! For the appreciation of Emotions of Love!
ReplyDeletevery very touching. i also lookd up my father and still missing him so much, though i may never see him again. and this poem really talks all about my life and my father. all my siblings were diligent in studies and i was not at all...never made my father happy. but, all that my father want from all of us was to get the best education. reading this poem my memories get refresh and can still see in front of my eyes, how my father struggled for me alone..to make me someone one day. i am satisfied with what i am today. i won't be even this person today, if, He was not my Father. thank you Sir Nellay for this Post and refreshing my determination once again...i will never fail my Father.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tia. A good poem makes us to resonate with the emotions with which the poet penned the poem. Your comments confirm that Henthai’s poem deserve heartiest appreciation.
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