She wakes up
Only so she can make us all breakfast.
One by one,
We all get up,
Not caring too much about the time,
Or about the fact that she must want to go back to bed.
She says it doesn’t matter.
She sleeps during the day.
When nobody is there,
She watches with glazed eyes,
The TV shows that repeat themselves,
Over and over again.
She cooks for us,
Makes sure she’s done,
Before we all come back.
Returning from our full days,
We sit hungry,
Don’t pay attention to anything she’s said.
She sits quietly,
Watching us all eat,
And tries hard to not complain;
She knows we’re tired;
She knows we can’t tell her everything.
But still sometimes,
I see that from the corner of her eyes,
A tear slips.
And then I remember
That I didn’t say hi,
When I first came in.
Published on: May 16, 2011
Tasneem Dairywala 