Rani Drew
Equations of Love
It’s useless asking questions now, there
can be no replies from the other side of life,
if there is any.
Even here, you had stopped answering
when my late rebelliousness had
barred your way. You were taken aback
by the change in me, at my challenging
the partiality of your love for sons over
daughters. How you tackled my persistence!
If any discrimination at all, you said, weighing
it carefully, it couldn’t be more than
the difference between 19 and 21, almost
nothing, you pointed out, such was your craft,
enough to disarm the fiercest adversary.
But not me. I still went on, finding more
ammunition to break down your motherly
reserves. By the time I was hit by the truth
of reversals – 19 and 91 instead, I became sure –
you were gone, safe beyond my childish
tuggings, after all these years of growing up.
And now despite the lightness of your numbers,
the burden of love weighs me down.
Page(s) 33
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