Amma
Amma, do you remember your happiest day
When I was born on an august Tuesday
You held me close because you were afraid
That the world would take your little boy away.....
Amma, I got into college today
The classes were dull and I didn’t really care
But I did my work and held my own
For you said to me,
Son, you’re brilliant but remember it’s a gift
You are as much the Creator’s as my own
So be good, be strong
Be a credit to your mother’s womb
And you’ll find the world a happy place.........
Amma, I got into Virginia Tech today
It’s in Washington, a place far far away
Lots of Indians here, so many in fact
I don’t know whether I am in DC, or old Delhi.........
Amma, I met a girl today
She’s got brown eyes and dark hair
She is so beautiful that it makes me cry
I know she is his child, for I can see
The whole world mirrored in her smile.......
Amma, I got engaged today
Oh I am so happy today
I wish you could be with me
Here on my happiest day......
Amma, it is my wedding day
She is dressed in white
She looks so beautiful, it’s almost as if she were alive
I can still hear the gunshots, but I don’t care
For I have to bury my love today........
Amma, it is raining today
The rain my tears, the howling wind my soul
The whole world is weeping with me
Thirty two dead, many injured the news channel say
I can still hear the wails of many like me
Who have lost their loved ones today........
We are all god’s children you said to me
Then how can he be so unfair
To set her free and leave me here
To face this wonderful world........
So I write this letter to you Amma
Because I know you would understand
And tell the world about your son
And how is world became gray
Because of thoughtless acts, and a loaded gun.......
- dedicated to the victims of V. Tech attack, April 2007
