I thought it was the doomsday and I was lying on my death bed. But, when I opened my eyes, I saw the doctor smiling and saying in distorted voice— “You are the bravest woman I have ever seen !”
I tried to smile, but couldn’t. He was calling me a brave woman, a woman who was weak, underweight and anemic, who was not even able to ask “why me?”.
My doctor said— “while the whole world cries before entering into the operation theatre for such a tough, Grade-4 surgery, you were smiling and writing notes to your children on your medical prescription. When the whole world weeps with pain during surgery in trans-state of mind, you were the one who was murmuring poems of hope for your daughters even in that subconscious state. You are indeed the strongest woman I have ever met!”
For a woman who was always called frail, fragile and was considered not fit to handle tough situations, it was the biggest compliment till the day. I wanted to thank Dr. Begani (Dr. M.M. Begani, Surgeon, Bombay hospital) for the praise, but was heavily drowsed due to anesthesia and tranquilizers. I couldn’t even utter a word, though I wanted to say— “motherhood makes me the strongest person on this earth.”
I thought I won’t come back home alive, that day, before entering into the operation theatre. I was sinking, thus I wrote a poem for my daughters on the blank-back side of my prescription. It was an 8 hours long, difficult and fatal surgery, and I was advised to stay there for at least 15 days. Despite that, I came back home just after a week, though my family and doctor tried to stop me.
I have heard a line in Hindi, sometimes back, (don’t remember exactly when and where)
“Jab baat bachon par aati hai to hirni bhi sherni ban jati hai”!
And I came back home stronger, more motherly. Though today is not Daughter’s day, every day is a Daughter’s day for me till I am alive.
Here’s sharing the poem written for my beautiful daughters Maitreni and Anindhya, which I wrote in the ICU 10 years back.
The day will come.
When I’ll breathe no longer,
But the scents I’ve infused in your soul
And the whiff I emit with sheer tranquility;
My fragrance shall always survive and never perish!
The day will come
When I’ll speak no longer,
But you would never be left alone
In the legacy of my words, I’ll leave for you,
And a treasure of verse for my generations to come!
The day will come
When I’ll sing no longer,
But my heart will hum songs of sixpence
For your tranquil sleep and uninterrupted dreams,
And some sweet lullabies, to ignite your innocence!
The day will come
When I’ll live no longer,
But before I bid you adieu forever,
I wish to freeze ultimate smiles on your faces,
So that I could remain with you forever and ever!
— Sangeeta Mishra
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Very touching and beautiful poem Sangeeta. It drowned me in a sea of emotions. Stay blessed… 🙂
Thank you so much Priyashi. Glad that you liked the poem. Welcome to TSS. 🙂
This is such a touching post, ma’am. You all are lucky to have each other ☺️
Thank you so much Mr. Singhal. I’m glad you liked it. Means a lot. 🙂
This is the true dedicated life to motherhood, i see it clearly in all the above words Sangeeta ji. And that responsibility with the accompanied love and that responsibility strengthened by affection made you to write those lines even in that hardship. No, not your body strength supported you here, not any medication, but the caring and love you have for your gems made you to write this even in the occupied state due to anaesthetic exposure. This is a personal note to your both daughters, this made them to feel the love. Here the healing came from that nurtured love. And i really appreciate the courage you had at that time, it’s all came from two things, love & responsibility. Thank you for such amazing and touchy poem Sangeeta ji :))
A heartfelt thanks to you for these kind words Prasanna. This was the most painful yet strengthening experience if my life, and I loved it’s being read by thoughtful people like you. It’s my pleasure that you have gone through the post and have come up with such a detailed and nice comment.
Means a lot. You are one of the most valuable readers of TSS, we would always cherish. A big thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Dear Purba!
As I always say, your presence on TSS is the one of the most special things to me, and your appreciations mean a lot. But, as you can read in this poem, a mother always wants to see her kids smiling. If you smile, your mother’s soul would be more that happy. You are like my daughter and I wish you all the happiness and success of this world. God bless you child. Keep smiling. 🙂
You are absolutely right, Ma’am. Thanks a ton for the beautiful words. Much love. Hugs <3
Love you lots kid. God bless you. 🙂 <3 X
Hello Ma’am,
Those are very brave & nice lines.
It is the the bonding and love for your family that kept you alive.
I pray for your good health ahead.
Superb poem.
Thank You!
Avinash
Hello Avinash.
Thank you so much that you find my lines worth appreciation. Glad that you liked them. Your kind words mean a lot. 🙂
Poignant and touching. God bless you and your family.
Thank you so much Meera. Means a lot. 🙂
Loved each word of the poem. Felt the hidden pain. You are blessed. Take care
Thank you so much Upasana. Your kind words mean a lot. 🙂
The poem brought tears to my eyes. :/ So very touching.
Thanks Bushra. Your kind words mean a lot. 🙂
A very touching one Sangeetha.. I literally have no words for this one, kinda makes you stop and go into a deeper thought.
Thank you si much Vinay. Means a lot when come from you. 🙂
I read this poem on FB today, posted by you and thought that it’s just a flow of creativity of a poetic genius. Then I saw this post and was speechless! I found it touching when I read it first, but now it was overwhelming!
I just have any words! It’s awesome! Your daughters must be proud of you, ma’am!
Thank you so much Rakesh ji. Your words always mean a lot to me. Being appreciated by a wordsmith like you is no less than pride for me.
I don’t know what my daughters think in this regard ( new generation…they call me an emotional fool) but I am so proud of them. Whatever they do is special for me. 🙂
Thanks once again!
They are wrong. Emotional Fools are what make this world of robots tick. It’s people like us who preserve the sanity of all those ticking machines! 😀
Where would we be sans all these emotions and love?
Well said Rakesh ji ! Your words are so pleasing and encouraging. Thanks a lot once again.
A heart wrenching poem SangeetaJi and yes, the saying is so true about a Hirni 🙂 May God bless you with good health, love and happiness now and always x
That is so touching Jyothi. Thank you so much for liking the poem and for your kind words. <3
Heart touching. Stay blessed.
Thank you so much Chaitali for kind words.
Mothers,they are a class apart.It is torturous for a mother to think that one day she will not be around her children.
Very well said Indu. And that fear makes her brave enough to fight with the adversities of life. Thanks, and welcome to TSS. 🙂
I’m speechless. No words just tears.
Thank you so much Ravish. Means a lot.
Very brave of you!
Well written.
Thank you so much Indrani. Glad that you liked it. 🙂
It was very touching. Lots of blessings to this lovely and powerful family.
Thank you so much Swati for you kind words and good wishes. 🙂
that’s marvelous
Thank you so much.
Adversity is the stream which generates the spring of blessings & turns them into an ocean of strength.
Beautiful poem !!
Very nice and inspiring quote Mamta. I’m glad that you liked the poem. Thank you so much, and welcome to TSS. 🙂
OMG – is this for real? Thank god you are in the pink of health now… and touch wood to that!
Stay blessed always Sangeetaji… this was such a touching post! 🙂 <3
Yes Archana ! This incident happened about 10 years back.
Thank you so much for your wishes. Glad that you liked the post. 🙂 <3
Respect..!!
Thank you so much.