A Mother’s Plea

By FARAH TEJANI

With one hand on his expanded stomach and another wiping his eyes,
The hot sun shows no mercy, and the despondent mother cries.
She has no fear and curses God, for how could this not shake her,
She vows to make her reasons heard just when she’ll meet her Maker.

“Why must my babe go hungering for basic bread and water,
When across the globe another Mom is feeding milk to her daughter,
In big brick homes with fancy lawns and furniture and floors,
While I hide from the sun in my simple hut with no doors?

Can you hear my wretched painful cries as the tears fall down my face?
Is this why you gave me this gift so that I could not give him even a trace,
Of something warm and substantial to ease the hole within his gut.
Or is this my sad misfortune to be haunted in this agonizing rut?

How do you wish me to appease him, how is he supposed to understand?
Why does his own mother, his loving provider, not soothe him with her hand?”
The mother enraged by the Injustice and Unfairness of it all,
Decides there is nothing left to do but to surrender to the Fall.

She takes a piece of fabric from the only dress that she has in her keeping,
And moistens it with water she has boiled, and cooled down while she was sleeping,
And draws it to her son’s parched lips, with prayers he will not get worse;
And after he has drunk a few spoonfuls, she will pray to release this curse.

The doctors never make trips out to her people, they are miles from anywhere,
“Yet people in better off countries are privileged with the very best Healthcare!”
With trembling hands she tries to soothe her aching hungry child,
But all the while the injustices just make her mind run wild.

“Just give me some hope, just give a sign, that You will promise to provide,
All I want is these words from You and on this I will abide.”
Just then she heard a rumbling of a crowd outside her door,
A truck was parked and handing out rations while the people shouted, “More!”

Her uncle came with powdered milk and she simply could not believe it,
She mixed it with the boiled water and praised how she received it,
She drew it to his hungry mouth and he drank it with sheer delight,
While tearfully she thanked her Maker and praised Him with her might.

“Hear me, I am grateful, but please God promise me this,
You will stand faithfully by my side so that I will not dismiss,
That when in need You are always there, so preserve my faith in You.
Now my child’s hunger is satisfied, I am not so disheartened and blue.”

The mother held her babe to her breast and stroked him sweetly to sleep,
And in his ears she whispered a promise that she vowed that she would keep,
“I leave you In my Maker’s Hands, for He looks after us  all,
And whenever I am weak in faith I will remember upon Him to call.”

(The poem was composed on May 18, 2020).

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The Forest Cries at Night

By FARAH TEJANI

Dance june bug dance,
Upon the dogwood’s dew kissed petal,
Make your movements carefully
On which foot will you settle.

Do you wonder needlessly,
About that dreaded rattle snake,
Or how she strikes fear in all who pass,
With the clatter that she makes?

In the forest you are just a little one,
Amidst the towering trees,
With their sinewy branches,
Blowing secrets in the breeze.

Mocking monkeys hanging by their tails,
Eating ripe and sweet bananas,
They thrive in this lush green forest,
But could not possibly endure the savannahs.

Parrots with feathered wings bright,
Squawk loudly praising the Moon,
Rains quench this great green carpet,
The owls hoot a different tune.

Greet the twitching grasshopper,
Paying heed to their chirping sounds,
Should there be a coming storm,
Every animal knows what might abound.

Hear the forests buried secrets,
Their message to us all,
The riches that lie within her,
ARE THE SACRED TREES THAT WE FALL!

So find shelter friendly squirrels,,
Shine on Madame Firefly,
These are the tears of the forests,
And the animals never lie.

(The poem was composed on May 10, 2020).

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From Behind Heaven’s Curtain

By FARAH TEJANI

Take time and summon thoughts for those whom we cherish,
In doing so we make certain that from our memories they don’t perish.
As for the loved ones who’s souls have remorsefully passed on,
Though it may feel like, they are certainly not gone.

From behind Heaven’s Curtain, they watch us from Above,
When loneliness prevails, they shower us with LOVE.
Blessing our endeavours, every moment, every action,
Our successes, they recount with humble satisfaction.

When we are in distress, they beg God to ALTER,
Our destiny, so that we can endure but not falter.
Their prayers go answered; they are so loved by the LORD
And it is on these sweet prayers that our very lives have soared.

Their hearts burst with joy when we are immersed in happiness,
Months without hardships and countless hours without stress.
In remembering our LOVED ONES precious pictures we keep,
Upon gazing at their faces we cannot help but weep.

We ask God how could He? It was much too soon for them to part,
But we are soon reminded of what we have known from the start,
From the very moment we are born there is one thing for sure,
There is no way to defy the grasp of death’s final lure.

Reminisce and treat precious these moments we have now,
Before destiny takes another life and then it is too late somehow.
Be joyous, take pictures, share loving words, embrace,
Texting’s overrated LOVE IS ONLY REAL FACE TO FACE.

So put down your phone and just travel the distance,
Be prepared for often you will be met with resistance.
Because these days, no one has time left to spare,
Take time to MAKE TIME and let them know that YOU CARE.

Busy lives just get busier and often time gets LOST
And once it is GONE we realize at what PRECIOUS COST.
While we are living make peace and share your heart,
So that should one of us leave this earth, with LOVE SHALL WE PART.

(The poem was composed on May 27, 2020).

Date posted: July 24, 2020.

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We are delighted to introduce readers of Simerg to our new contributor Farah Tejani, with three of her recently penned poems.

Farah graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia in May of 1997 and earned top Honors for her Thesis on Short Fiction. With the help of her agent Barbara Graham she then went on to publish a collection of short stories published by Trafford, called, “Make Your Own Chai, Mama’s Boy!” — ten short stories dealing with different dilemmas South Asians face. Farah also wrote and co-directed her stage play, “Safeway Samosas,” which won “The Best of Brave New Playwrights Award” in July 1995. Her short story , “Too Hot” won third place in the “Canada-Wide Best Short Fiction Award.” and was read at The Vancouver Writers Festival. Currently, Farah is working on Childrens’ stories and a collection of poetry called, “Elastic Embrace” to be published in 2021.

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