Jun 30, 2016 Free Verse, Original Poetry, The Daily Post
Clouds Shaped Like Au Revoir
©June 30th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
There were clouds looming ahead
All pregnant with sunlight and rain-light,
Clouds shaped like au revoir,
Auf Wiedersehen, phir milenge,
Aprama pakalam,
Until we meet again,
When we drove to Vermont,
En famille, to the place
That would be nurturing my daughter
For seven weeks.
To drop her off at camp –
My daughter, my only one,
The starlight of my eye,
The laughter of my days
The love of our life –
Was easier than I thought
Yesterday,
The day I grew up.
Yes, there were some tears
(Mine, just a few,
And just on the way back.)
Yes, there was some joy
(She’ll be fine; she loves it already.)
Yes, there were some fears
(But she is sensible and bright
And filled with joyful openness
A flower before the sun).
See, it’s like this:
You spend nine months
Carrying a whole galaxy
Within you.
You watch over her,
Teach her everything,
How to speak, how to sing,
How to read, how to write,
How to be moral and kind
How to forgive, and how to love,
You feed her, sing to her,
Tell her stories, take her places,
Fill her days with love.
You spend your days
Wondering how all this will
Shape the future.
You learn to let go, just a little,
But you don’t think you’ll
Do so entirely, not for a while.
And then, when the time comes,
And she’s ready, and happy,
You learn to loosen that kite,
(Just for seven weeks, But still …),
Trusting that she’ll be all right,
They’ll be all right,
You’ll be all right.
And there were clouds
Looming ahead as we drove
Upwards, yesterday.
And clouds looming ahead
When we drove back,
Some white and some gray
But all shot through with light,
Bursting with light, barely contained –
But the kite flies on happily
Swooping through those clouds
A happy-shaped kite of Daughter.
And the string still holds
Her to us, to me,
An invisible umbilical cord
While I send her
Mother-prayers for safety
Within her freedom,
And my heart expands
Like a sky with clouds,
Shaped like a home-coming.
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Tags: #Clouds, #DailyPrompt, #Daughter, #Leave-takings, #OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram, #Postaday, #TheDailyPost