She is still waiting,
For his shoes to hit the door
And the thud of his bag
Hitting the floor
The hungry call to her for food….
The plate is full,
But her son is several feet
Below the ground …
She did see the big hole
On his forehead, that nothing could fill
She did hug him
Like everyday, tight
Only he didn’t squirm out…
She kissed his cold cheeks
Trying to bring some color back
But he remained cold,
Then they took him …
Still in his uniform to lay him in a casket
And away he went
Never to return
Now all she hears is the thud
Of her forehead hitting the wall
The quiet scream
That dried her tears..
She is unable to eat, sleep or cry
The bullet went through his forehead and her heart.
There is another mother
Whose quiet scream has long frozen
She never waited for her son
Because when he hugged a gun
He no longer hugged her,
He too will never return
After firing that bullet
But his mother is just praying
And wondering
Why he couldn’t see God
In the eyes of that boy
But could see God
In the lifeless gun ?
Her womb is dry, she is praying
She never begets a child again
Who stops another mother’s heart
The children played their game
And left the mothers to cry
It just happened and the world has moved on
Except for the mother
Whose plate is full and her heart is empty
And the mother
Whose life is empty..
The clock stopped at that instant
When one son pulled the trigger
And four lives stopped….
—————————
In memory of the children lost in the Peshawar school massacre. Unable to get over the horror of it. :(:(