My Daughter

A small child in Tiruchirapalli, India
Called me "Dad";
Even though I am only twenty five
And my girlfriend & I are happy
With our relationship
At where it stands.

To be a father,
You don't need to marry
And Conceive a child.

Instead you can simply visit www.savegirlchild.org
And donate 10 dollars a month;
And simply with that
You can become a father
The careholder of a little child
Across borders
Millions of miles away
In a small village at the middle of nowhere.

Her name is "Asha"
It means hope,
It means she can put behind her dungy days
Sleeping on pavements , crying out loud
Without even an ounce of "roti" and a cup of warm milk
Unbeknownst of her drunk 'father'
Whose one dark whim
In a shady, autumn night
With a hapless and ill fated teenager of barely fifteen years
Created her.

She is five years old now,
They are teaching her Hindi & Malayalam
And a little bit of English.
So that she can stand up
And outpour words and letter in a journal
Fill the pages with light and hope.
She might once write a letter to me as well.

They say she can say "Appa" now
Which means father.
They have told her of me.
I wonder what goes across her little, troubled mind
How she relates to father
Unseen and Unheard
A man who sends few green colored papers to take care of her.

I want to meet "Asha",
Talk to her
Look at her innocent, deep black eyes
And smudgy nose
And call her "Beti".
Run with her in the dusty village road
Which heads to the blue mountains
Peek into her classroom from the window
And watch her learn and grow.
Tell her stories of Rapunzel and Hans Christian Andersen
And how fairy tales are real.

I want to answer all her questions
That visits her mind and tell her how she is so special.
I want to watch her grow every moment
And to see her transformation from a tiny little bud
To a wonderful flower.

I wait for the time
When her hands will hold a pen
And write a letter
Which would look something like this
" Dear Papa,
Wherever you are,
Whatever you do,
I can feel the shower of love and blessings
That is on me always
Because of you.
I have no complaints,
I have no issues.
I have no doubts
For I from the bottom of my heart
Know that I love you
And that you love me too"

She could one day be a Doctor
Or an Engineer
Transform lives of people
Near and About her.

But I feel she will be a Poet
Who would write
Use free , liberated verses
To fight and strive
Against the bitter sweet world
Make it better
Fill it with hope
For more "Asha's".

Whatever she does,
I know my "Asha"
Will make me proud
One day. Someday.



© Nothing Personal. December 21, 2010.

Reviews

[.]

. next year ... i will go and visit her for you ... 99% ... and this message is critical for the anthology ... thank you for this ... (as you know i am freezing the content on thursday so this really helps) ... btw, you are a remarkable father ...

[SOUL LESS]

An adopted child is one who grew up in his mother's heart instead of her tummy.
Best I've read so far...this is a CLASSIC! Going to my faves...surely. 90%

[underwriter]

wow, this is ever so beautiful and heartfelt! you write with passion, i like that in a writer!

[Gone]

it is an awsome thing to sponser a child. I have friends who work in the third world and they depend on sponsorship to help families survive. It really does make a real difference to those who receive it and their immediate family. This poem needt to be sent to the organisation through which you sponsor Asha. Please give them permission to use it in their promotional material. I believe it will encourage others to do the same. BTW great write.

[Sarah McConnaughey]

This is beautiful and emotional. I really hope you're able to meet her one day.

[Calypso]

So nice. That would be nice if we all could help the children in the 3rd world countries.

[Catonia06]

WOW :O

[Undying Glory]

amazing work, so very touching. what better gift could be bestowed upon a baby with no parents than the gift of a family and a future? this is just so sweet! let's all pray that benevolence shall prevail upon our corrupted world.
"But I feel she will be a Poet
Who would write
Use free , liberated verses
To fight and strive
Against the bitter sweet world
Make it better
Fill it with hope
For more "Asha's"."
such wonderful words!!

[Sunflower 20]

ur writing is very, very emotional. Which in a way is a gift for a writer; to be able to share feelings through words all around the world.

i hope one day you will meet ur little Asha :)

[Stacey]

This is beautiful and full of hope! This little beauty Asha will one day know you and your unselfish caring soul. For a little one to be in such circumstance is heartbreaking. I have a feeling she will come to know and understand the words love and care. She'll probably pay it forward one day and that's amazing! Wonderful write

[.]

a touching and poignant reminder of people throughout the world that we can help without being there personally., I pray that she grows into a fine young woman aware that there is a whole world out there full of people like you..bless you