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Between the Lines

by Shobhana Kumar

Snippets from letters that a mother writes to her daughter over a period of time reveal what the mother infers from her daughter’s letters and what she, in turn, tells her little one. Shobhana Kumar writes a poem that captures the conversation between a mother and a daughter, from the mother’s perspective.

June 2, 2015

I can feel the fears in your ‘I’s,
your eyes misting at every end.

How can I fill the missing letters
to set right your hunched shoulders,
the weight in your heart?

June 28, 2015

Is there a wan smile, I can see, dear child,
a thin ray that shows in your slant?

I see you’ve got your punctuation right,
it must be all okay. It must be.

July 4, 2015

Was your day a little hurried
today, were you afraid?

Was it the nightmare that usually
wakes you? Was it a friend?

July 15 2015

I’ve just parcelled two hugs,
you should get them sometime

this week. Be careful to open them,
lest the warmth evaporate too soon.

July 31 2015

What happened to the chatter-box
we know? Where is her confidence

tucked away? Don’t forget to take
a teaspoon full every morning

and night. And add a good measure
for those blue days.

August 4 2015

Baby, I can see you sitting next to me,
your head on my lap, your smile

in my heart. Just hold on, will you?
Just hold on.

Note to self:
Let go. Learn to let go.

Shobhana Kumar was among the 25 featured poets from around the world at Poetry with Prakriti Festival, 2014, and among 8 women poets invited by Raedleaf Poetry and the American Consulate in April 2015. Her work features in 2 collections of poetry (Writers Workshop), anthologies and journals including Open Road Review, The Missing Slate, Spark, Muse India, among others. She has authored 5 books of non-fiction.
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