In dodo's head

There's a feeling of despair,  a feeling of self doubt, Is there ever such a feeling as being cared for so much, That one feels uncared for. Loved ones push, and push, high pressure and all, In the hopes of turning me from a coal into a diamond, One wonders, do they forget, Not all coal turns to diamond, Some get crushed, turn into soot, Trampled and discarded. The diamonds, they shine on. The soot, lay on the ground. Many bemoan the loss. Few ever asked it, what is it that it wanted to become.

"Papaaaa", screamed the little girl of four as she jumped from, what to her seemed liked a mountain of a bed. Her father, a handsome young man of thirty five, used to her antics simply reached out his arms to 'rescue' her. Years on, the girl, then a ten year old, swallowed the lump in her throat as she attempted to execute the tear free farewell she had been mentally preparing herself for. But seeing her father walk away, beyond the gates of her boarding school was too much for her. She ran, as fast as her little limbs could go, to hug him just one more time.There was no controlling her tears anymore. And like always, there was her father, to reassure her, with his warm hug and gentle voice, telling her that it would all be okay. And like always, she believed him. The letters her father wrote to her were not the usual "how are you doing, we are good" kinds that she got from everyone else, instead, his were filled with words of wisdom, of lessons to learn i...

When people pass by Room A4 in the Government hospital of Imphal, they will see an old frail lady, surrounded by her closest kin. Weak as she is, she gives all those who visit her, her full attention. She asks each one how they are doing and whether all is well at home. She greets the doctors and nurses with a smile, thanking them for visiting her. My grandmother, or Boma as I call her, from the earliest of my memory has always been like this. She has survived it all, be it the Second World War, her being married off to a stranger at the tender age of 12, or raising all of her eight children by herself;  and most importantly she has done it with grace. When I think of role models,  she is the first that comes to mind, with her mind blowing strength and spirit of sacrifice. Boma has not had the happiest life,  and not a day goes by without me wishing her sorrow and worries would magically disappear. Surely,  a kind hearted person like her doesn't deserve a fraction...