Mother - A Poem on Mother .....

 

Embodied Beauty .... Embodies Life .... Empowered by Divine .... That's Mother !! It is difficult to describe mother and her role in our lives .... here are a few words that make some efforts, perhaps in vain, to describe mother ....

 

With my mother in November, 2016 .... Vanita Thakkar

Mother

Strong and soft,

Tough and tender,

Creator’s delight,

Beholder’s wonder

Embodied beauty –

That’s Mother,

Embodies life –

That’s Mother !!

Delicate and distinct,

Malleable and mild,

Strength unlimited,

Support undeterred,

Unbreakable, unbeatable –

That’s Mother,

Empowered by the Divine –

That’s Mother !!

- Vanita Thakkar (22.11.2011)

Mummy at Coorg in May, 2016 .... Phoograph by Vanita Thakkar 

Mummy at the Norbulingka Institute, Dharmashala (Himachal Pradesh) in May, 2018 .... Photograph by Vanita Thakkar

 

© 2020 Vanita Thakkar (Published on HubPages on 01st October, 2020)

My Ego - A Poem with Reflections on Understanding Ego and Self-respect; Ego and Social Labels; Ego, Trust and Love ….

How much have you suffered because of your notions of my ego ? .... You find all reasons to cause troubles .... Still, do I not owe Thanks to you for being better than worse ??!!

My Ego

How much have you suffered

Because of your notions of my ego ?

You degraded and maligned yours !

You got justifications to trouble me.

You are successful indeed !

Your hostility does harm me,

But, it will bear bitter fruits for you.

I am glad to give you happiness

From my miseries.

Do I not owe Thanks to you

For being better than worse ?

- Vanita Thakkar (20.03.2009)

 

Reflections ....

It is important to understand the difference between ego and self-respect in life.

What is self-respect for one person may appear as ego to another person.

Struggles for self-respect raise questions on sensitive matters concerning individual and social well-being, including :

• traditions
• self-image
• identity .... and so on ....

Whether between / among individuals or small groups or large groups / communities, such mind games, in the name of perceptions, often involve use of various labels that usually carry importance on matters of collective interests, such as loyalty towards (many times, so-called)

• accepted practices (that may be urgently requiring changes for good),
• social concerns,
• religion,
• gender,
• region,
• languages,
• belief systems and so on ....

The use of "by hook or crook" ideology keeps delaying justice / possible reconciliations.

Sometimes I wonder, why do people say there are clashes in ideologies, when actually in most cases, there are clashes between self-respect and greed or between greed on both sides, that causes much harm to whatever is being fought for.

Self-respect and Greed

Sometimes I wonder, why do people say there are clashes in ideologies, when actually in most cases, there are clashes between self-respect and greed or between greed on both sides. Do you agree ?

• 90% Yes
• 0% No
• 10% Not sure

10 people have voted in this poll.

The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life is the source from which self-respect springs.

– Joan Didion

 

Ego, Trust and Love ....

The satisfaction of being trusted is a better compliment than the satisfaction of being loved. Do you agree ?

• 17% Yes
• 0% No
• 83% Love without trust is either blind due to possessiveness or lame due to helplessness.

12 people have voted in this poll.

© 2021 Vanita Thakkar (Published on HubPages on 27th July, 2021)

Motherhood : Poem - The Greatest of Joys - Still, Where Does It Get Lost Or Trapped, On Its Way From Doll-House To Home?

  .... I saw, birth-givers not becoming mothers and Motherhood craving in childless arms …. 

And I wonder, where did It get trapped? 
Where? ………..? 
Where is It struggling? On its way from doll-house to home? ....

To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow.

— Maya Angelou

"We are born of love; Love is our mother."

- Rumi

Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials.

- Meryl Streep

Mother is a verb. It's something you do. Not just who you are.

- Cheryl Lacey Donovan

Motherhood

I was a little more than

Five years old,

Had not started

Going to school, yet.

Everyday,

I listened to the radio,

Heard songs –

Most of them Hindi Film songs ….

And was very impressed

By Lata Mangeshkar ….

One day,

Curious,

I asked my father,

“Pappa, does Lata Mangeshkar’s daughter

Also sing so beautifully? ”

“Lata Mangeshkar

Does not have a daughter.”

“Why? ”

“She is not married.”

“So what? ” ….

I wondered !!

I had the impression that

At a certain age,

Every girl becomes a lady

And a mother,

Bearing and rearing children ….,

A phenomenon as natural

And as matter-of-fact as

Flowering of plants, trees ….

“You are a fool ! ”,

My not-so-elder,

But wise brother quipped

And unknowingly spared

Pappa’s adult answerlessness.

Later on,

I grew up,

Accumulated age,

And I saw,

Birth-givers

Not becoming mothers

And Motherhood

Craving in childless arms ….

And I wonder,

Where did It get trapped?

Where? ………..?

Where is It struggling?

On its way from

Doll-house to home?

Vanita Thakkar (12.07.2009)

 

"Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved."

- Erich Fromm

"Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws."

- Barbara Kingsolver

A mother's love liberates.

- Maya Angelou

 

© 2009 Vanita Thakkar

Mr. And Mrs. Mouse - A Poem

 

Mr. Mouse married Miss Mouse. He brought her to his house; to lead a “happy” life, with his beautiful wife .... Read how their marriage progresses ...

Mr. And Mrs. Mouse

Mr. Mouse married Miss Mouse.

He brought her to his house;

To lead a “happy” life

With his beautiful wife.

Mr. Mouse was rather lazy.

After marriage, he also became crazy.

First, Mrs. Mouse enjoyed the favour,

Then, she lost her temper.

One morning, she began to shout,

“Mend your ways or get out ….”

Poor, dear Mr. Mouse !

He had to leave his house.

Mr. Mouse began to earn for a living,

He, also, became hard-working.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Mouse was in trouble.

Life, to her, was a lonely struggle.

One day, when she slept quietly,

A cat crept in swiftly.

The watchman Dog came just then,

Seeing him, away the cat ran.

Mrs. Mouse felt sad and scared,

“Oh ! Can these miseries not be ended ?”

She dressed herself and went to Mr. Mouse

To bring him back to ‘his’ house.

She felt sorry for being impertinent,

And made up her mind to be loving and patient.

Mr. Mouse came back, gladly,

For, he had also suffered badly.

- Vanita Thakkar (written sometime in the first half of 1984)

Memories about this poem ....

My friend, Shipra Mathur and I, were classmates and bench-mates, studying in seventh standard (seventh grade) in the Central School (Kendriya Vidyalaya - 1 (K V - 1), Vadodara).

My passion for reading and writing was known. Shipra wanted to see me write a poem. I agreed. We sat down and I started writing.

During those days, in our English lessons, we were studying the nonsense poem - The Owl and the Pussy Cat, by Edward Lear.

So, I thought of writing a nonsense poem. And this poem - Mr. and Mrs. Mouse - is what came up. We laughed and laughed as I wrote the poem.

Shipra loved the poem. She took it home and made her little brother memorize it. He recited it at an upcoming poetry recitation competition at his school and won the first prize.

That was great joy for all of us !!

 

© 2021 Vanita Thakkar