A tiny life under the sun and the moon.
Parents bright with ambition and drool.
"Mine! Mine!" the mother says,
"Yours! Yours!" absconds the father.
"Who am I...?" wonders the daughter.
"Housewife or 'Mod' wife" replies mother.
"If you study hard and get good marks...
You will surely escape Amravati, for the better."
"Who am I...?" wonders the son.
The father replies, "Hopes and dreams of everyone..."
"Except yourself..." added he. "For you know too little,
"and are a little too green.
And 'green' as you know, isn't worth a dime nor a nickel"
"Daddy what is this?" inquires the child.
"I don't have time beta" says he, sunk in his mobile.
"Mummy can we play?" pleads the child.
"Just let me finish watching this forward", mummy groans and sighs.
"My child just doesn't let go of the phone!"
Cries the parent in school.
Once a temple of learning,
Today's shark pool.
"Do something! It's your job! That's why you get paid!"
Shallow orders bounce off the walls.
From the parents to whoever heeds
Until the teacher's called.
"Look at him" they sneer. "He doesn't speak when we tell him to.
He doesn't dance to our tunes"
"He has to be forced to invite our friends for his bithday
and sulks in a corner among the din and play!"
"What are you doing with her??" they demand.
"She knows about the world but not what's in the book!"
"She can paint. She can cook. She can even invent astounding things...
But she does not know how to write!"
"What are we paying you for!" they exclaim.
"If my child does not grow up to pay me back.
For all the hard work that we do,
By instilling fear in them and cutting them no slack."
"I am fine with this 'innovative' teaching..." the parent lies,
"But my partner has something else in mind"
"My friends know best" they say, withdrawing the child
"For their children are waaay ahead in the rat race, although devoid of life."
Silently, the teacher listens. Having lost the fight.
"But I will not lose the war she says" smiling a gentle smile.
"For the seeds are sown. The child, prepared for tomorrow."
"When the going's sure to be tough, they'll sail through life"
"Battling the waves and cutting through the currents, for a future bright"
"Tomorrow will be a better day" sighs the teacher.
"With your concern and your time", he guides the new parents
"They will learn to love and love to learn
If you just leave them be, and step aside."
"Maybe these parents will explore, how beautiful parenting can be"
Hopes the teacher, with twinkling eyes. "May be they will open their eyes;
And among a sea of echos, step up and be the voice"
The clock strikes twelve again. And the bell begins to chime...
Comments
Post a Comment