AN ODE TO MUM

DO YOU SEE ME IN MUM?

The looks that make time stands still

The high-cheeked bones

The small pair of eyes

The wave-cut platform chin

The Mona Lisa smile that captivates the world

The wide and wise forehead

TWO PEAS IN A POD

A Sonnet for My Incomparable Mother

I often contemplate my childhood, Mom.

I am a mother now, and so I know

Hard work is mixed together with the fun;

You learned that when you raised me long ago.
I think of all the things you gave to me:

Sacrifice, devotion, love and tears,

Your heart, your mind, your energy and soul

All these you spent on me throughout the years.
You loved me with a never-failing love

You gave me strength and sweet security,

And then you did the hardest thing of all:

You let me separate and set me free.
Every day, I try my best to be

A mother like the mom you were to me.

Many people have been saying that I resemble my mum a lot. I guess we share the same high-cheeked bones, the small eyes and the wave cut platfrom chin. There's where our similarities lie.

My mum is a gentle and a soft-spoken lady. Being a housewife, she prefers to stay within the comfort of the home rather than leave it. She and dad had slogged their lives to bring up six children. They have toiled, they have sacrificed, they have given more than we can ever imagine possible.

Mum's meek disposition hides a lady of steel who had weathered and withstood all storms and bad weathers. Yet, she had come strong and fiesty, never buckling under extreme conditions and situations.

I learned about love from you by watching your caring ways. I learned about joy from you in fun-filled yesterdays. From you I learned forgiving of faults both big and small. I too learned what I know about living from you, as you gave life your all. The example you set is still with me and I'd never want any other. I'm thankful for all that you taught me and I'm blessed to call you "Mother."

Mum, I love you! Forgive me if I have pained you.

Sami Yusuf with 'Mother'