You are an alternative world, Ma.

You are my home,

My peace resides in you.

You’re the beauty, you’re the gem.

You kept me in your womb.

You gave birth. You raised me.

My cradle, my babble, my first-

Booster in your lap.

You sent me to school. My childhood-

My teenage, my first time being in month.

My 10th exam, my higher secondary,

I kept you so busy in my struggles.

You violated my teenage love,

And torn apart my heart.

You handled my unwanted pregnancy,

And saved me from teenage crisis.

My college days, my university exams-

I kept you so busy with my problems.

You turn into a breadwinner and a homemaker.

But when I’ve reached into my adulthood-

I can feel your journey;

I share your feelings of motherhood.

It’s not easy to be you.

It’s not easy to be you, Ma.

~Tiyasha Khanra 

Kolkata, India