A Father's Grief

As I held you in my arms, sinewy of all
The anchor, to hold you secure, eternally
Promises, A Father to his child, inscribes
Etched in their souls, spelled through the eyes

This crook, most solid and sound I sold
Forever here, the mast with you sheltered
I will stand aground, rooted, so no harm dare stray
No wind and no tide, no destiny could prise

To catch, console, when you stumble and stray,
A rough caress here, a gruff lullaby for Baby whimpers
For you the harbor of my shoulders, I carved
To groom you in a better image, my sail tattered I unfurled

In the rocking ceaseless tossing, evil willfully designed
Banshee winds, towering seas, bloodied land left behind
Through waters that had beckoned, the only route
To freedom, a passage to future bright,
Other far off avenues denied

When the ship’s shepherd,
Threw away the steer
Swindled again, deceived humanity,
the enormity of black scape
Wheels I held tight
- the last fight, your savior Me, to deliver

With only a prayer – Daddy Be Safe,
Upside down I realized
I felt you slip, surrendered,
The nightmare, that never should be

All I held dear, in that dark moment,
Snatched from me
Desperate souls in black night,
In darker depths, drowned in treachery,
Dreams asunder all perished onboard,
A destiny never agreed

We were tricked, deceit craftily snitched
My life, My bubble, My froth, My fizz
All I ever hoped to be, in that moment
Eternity merged with now and never, all denied
God welcomed his light
Earth and humanity left bereft

Yet to this wild, all undeserving zombie – Men
A reminder, to heed, to heal and apologize
Look my brother, the treacherous waters, did concede
A most delicate & tender shell,
That once held a cherub inside

That which mother of all mothers could not hold
From her dark churning depths, she returned from her womb
Rocking on thundering waves, so gently a shining pearl
Ashore a wet tear swept golden shore, she gave
Now to the arms of human race I forsake

Witness my baby, my babies fragile,
Nary a delicate hair askew,
Nor the clothes worn or shoes,
In place their angelic glow
For those with heart to weep,
Lesser beasts to repent
I carry the corpse of my being,
Weighed down by my empty shoulders
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From: 
Mumbai




Seema Jayaraman's picture

ABOUT THE POET ~
Seema K. Jayaraman is an upcoming poetess based out of Mumbai, India tracing her roots to the mystical lands of ‘Naura’ (Cannanore District in Kerala, also known as the crown of God’s Own Country). She is a mother of two young boys and a full time working professional in the IT Banking domain, juggling multiple roles and demands of life. She re-embarked on her poetry in September 2015 on viewing the image of a little boy washed up ashore the Aegean Sea – a victim of the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis. Her poem “A Father’s Grief” was penned in anguished protest, after a hiatus of nearly two decades. She believes the poem was auto dictated from divine realms conveying the universal loss and hopefully to bring an end to this kind of sadness., She writes unconstrained, experimenting with both free style and rhyme based verses. She also enjoys writing Haiku and Tanka. Her debut book “Wings of Rhapsody – A Dalliance Of Poems” was released in June 2016 and is available on leading retail sites including Amazon. Her poems have also appeared in a few anthologies and also on YouTube and various private FM channels (RedShift FM Radio - UK.


Last updated September 19, 2016