ONE CHANCE, JUST ONE !

I dedicate this poem to all those fathers who realise at the end of the day that career and work tensions are not to be brought home and shared with kids. Instead, they should see life through their kids' innocence and learn from them to forget and forgi

 

 

One chance:

Shouted at you as soon as I entered house after a tiring day at work...

Could not see that you were waiting near the door for me to come home

Pushed you away...

Could not see the tiny tears rolling down the chubby cheeks

Placed the consequences of my failures on your little shoulders...

Did not realise, it would break your soul

Asked you to go and study

Did not bother to share your experience at school that day

Asked you to go and play on your own

Could not see the football in your tiny hands

Yanked you out of the bath tub

Could not see that you wanted to play with your water gun

Forced you to finish your dinner fast and go to bed on your own

Could not understand that you were waiting for me to come…

How could I see??

How could I??

I was always thinking about myself, my publications, my research, my degree, my career, my laptop, my work, my achievements...

Where was the place for you??

No where...

I was busy, extremely busy...

Busy in carving a name for myself...

Busy in trying to prove myself superior...

Busy in achieving what others have not achieved so far...

Busy in proving that “I was the best”...

I lost my innocence and common sense as well

And lost myself in research, publications, work, promotions,

The desire to excel never ended...

You kept looking at me with those innocent eyes...

waiting for me to complete my work...

Wishing that I would come and hug you

Wishing that I would play with you and read out bedtime stories for you

Wishing that I would help you fly a kite and the new toy aeroplane

Wishing that we both would go out for Pizza tonight

Wishing that we would not sleep tonight and watch Spiderman together

Wishing that I would throw away the pile of papers near my laptop

Wishing that I would make you sit on my lap and we would gaze stars with hot chocolate in our hands

Wishing that I would listen to you and laugh with you

Wishing that we would go hiking that weekend

Wishing that we would go on a camping trip and would catch a BIG fish

Wishing that we would dress up for Halloween and play with colours in Holi

Wishing that we would play with crackers in Diwali and would light the entire house with diyas

Wishing that we would paint each other’s face with oil paints of Mama,

Wishing that we both would tease Mama together by tearing newspaper

Wishing that we both would play peek-a-boo with Mama

Wishing that I would not shout or yank you out of the bath tub, instead we would both enjoy our shower with lots of toys and water splash

Wishing that the evening would never end and night would never come

Wishing that tomorrow I would not go to work...

BUT I NEVER CAME...TO YOU...

But one day, when I looked back proudly to share my achievements with you

You were not there...

I called you, I searched for you...I was mad and terrified that I lost you...

Then...suddenly...I heard you calling, “Papa!!”...

There you were

...With that magnetic smile of yours

...Wearing that beautiful Mickey Mouse T-shirt

...Standing near your red tricycle

...Holding flowers for me in your tiny hands

... Ready with a big warm hug for me

... Holding your mama’s hands and looking at me anxiously

...Probably praying that today everything would change for good

Tears started flowing down my cheeks...

I could not stop them and I did not want to stop them

Let them flow and take away my self-centredness

Let them take away my pride and impatience...

Let them bring me closer to my son...my sweetheart...

I am sorry, honey

Please forgive, Papa

I don’t want to lose you again...

Please give your Papa one last chance...

One last chance...

Don’t go far away from me, my sweetheart...

Please stay with me...

Come…hold my hands and I will take you wherever you want…Let’s go…Let’s live…together forever and ever…

Reviews

[Ellen Hammond]

Wow! You have really done a great job of stressing the point that what we try to do FOR our children is not as important as the time we spend WITH them. I really like this, my friend.

[ajasminewallflower]

This was really eye opening but kind of saddening in a way. I look at this poem and think about how I wish my Dad would have thought that before my parents did split up and had that revelation about loving his children before he left. But at the same time I can understand how my stepfather feels now about all the stuff he has on his plate now. I can only hope that parents like my Dad realize that their children need them, even if it is for the smallest things. But what I found intresting is that you wrote in the FATHERS point of view. That was very clever.

[Honeypot]

This is an interesting perspective. You wrote it fromthe point of view of a neglectful father, whether he means to be or not. I think this was a really good idea for a poem. Its sad that people sometimes overlook their children when its those little ones that make life worth living. It serves as a good reminder to all parents. Good job!