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Longing to
Hear my
Voice, she
Tells her son
To ask me
To call her.
Her son
Dutifully
Conveys
Her message
To me.
He knows
And she knows
I'm recovering
From a bad flu
And am still
Down with a
Nasty cough
That pricks me
While talking....
My voice needs
Plenty of rest and
I deliberately avoid
Talking to give it rest.
She tells her son
She'll keep it short,
Not talk much but
She really needs to
Hear from me
To know more about
My recovery.
I used to often call her
But in the recent past,
I've shied away from
Calling her, lest she
Hears my dreadful
Coughing and starts
Worrying about me.
At 79, she's already
Beleaguered by an
Ailing, ageing body.
By calling and coughing,
I didn't want to add to
Her quotidian worries.
But she asked
And her son asked,
So I called, though
I tried not to cough,
But my broken voice
Revealed it all....
I pacified her
That I'm better
Than before,
But she said:
Mamoni, you
Are still not well.
Having heard my
Healthy voice before,
She could grasp the
Brokenness of my
Throaty voice, and
As always, I could
Feel the care in my
Mother-in-law's
Caring words and
Comforting voice.
I know she'll keep
Worrying about me
Till I fully recover and
This annoying coughing
Leaves me, but at least,
I was able to satisfy her
Longing to hear me.....
(Last month, after returning from his annual visit to India, my husband went down with flu. While nursing him back to health, I caught the bug as flu is very contagious. Since then, it's been quite a rough ride for me with all sorts of adverse symptoms. After weeks of discomfort, I'm now on the road to recovery.) |
