Global Parents Day
“Oh meri ammi”,
I let out, sometimes a whimper, a shout, a cry for help
My everyday troubles a privilege to her once denied
Yet she treads her snug fingers over mine, my head resting on her lap still
And mourns with me over the quivering wifi connection or the ending of “The Silent Patient”
“Oh meri ammi”
I would say in vain for making me inherit your third world problems
You brought me to this foreign land and you are to blame
But you endured the pain during your turn , leaving your native home for a white washed
habitat, surrounded by a language you once laughed at for it’s puzzling lexicons
Gave birth to a daughter alone, with no celebrations or balloons
“Mama” I would say when the last fajr azaan faded into the light of dawn
“Jee” you would say with exhaustion embedded into your voice
“Why did we leave america?”
You glared back with water in your eyes carrying a face indicating the loss of a family
heirloom, as if I just rejected a gift I was so lovingly given
“Oh meri ammi”
Your silence was enough for an answer
The sacrifices you gave along the way just to raise me, nurturing me into the woman you’ve
always dared to imagine
To see life through the colorful sheer dupatta
I understand that you wanted me to see your roots, the soil which planted you and skies
which watered you
So I could see the barriers we broke, the change that has erupted, the progress we made
Victory is to every woman raising a daughter in the 21st century.
IGCSE-III
Khyber campus