Ode to Parkinson’s

 

I got the shock of my life last night

When my mother saw me but failed to recognize.

Once strong like a mountain, now she is ill and fragile

Parkinson’s has taken a toll on her ability to survive.

Oh! What have you done to the woman who used to thrive with life?

 

Her once capable hands shake continuously

Making her unable and reliant; and this perturbs her profusely.

Her once high and proud head is now drooped habitually.

Her once unwavering and kind eyes are now all vague and lost strangely.

Oh! What have you done to the woman who faced every odd so bravely?

 

When I called her “Mamma,” she turned her face to me in vain

And tried to grope in the dark to get a signal from her brain.

I heard the angry pitter patter on the window pane of cold winter rain

I felt the cruelty of old age and tried to hide a tear of pain

Oh! What have you done to the woman who taught me not to feign?

 

Oh! Dear God! Something changed in those senile but still beautiful eyes

My mother narrowed her gaze on me, it felt like getting the most coveted prize.

“Don’t cry, don’t be afraid, my dear,” she repeated her old advice

Her words broken and unclear but still so wise.

Oh! See this woman who never fails to rise and shine!

 

You can take away everything from a MOTHER, You shoddy,

But not the MOTHERHOOD, embedded in every particle of her body.