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The Lost Home

by Parminder Singh

A man returns home decades after he had left it to fulfill his own and his parents’ dream. But in the contest to “become someone”, much has been lost. Parminder Singh’s poem brings to the fore, the thoughts of the man who left behind his home to chase a dream.

It has taken a while
to make a return
since I left to earn,
to buy a name for myself,
and test my mettle against
roads of perseverance.

A few shillings and vigour aeonian
were the sole possession
that I scrupulously packed
in an otherwise empty bag
before I had left behind
a teary-eyed mother
and a father with mixed feelings
of hope and despair.

Now that I have returned
with a bag full of paraphernalia
required to turn lavish desires
into quintessential needs,
I stand at the locked doors
of what I once called home.
I get the key from the caretaker,
enter, gaze at a life-sized mirror
to face a man older than my father’s age
when I saw him last at this very place.

Why can’t my nostrils sense
the petrichor after a fresh bout of rain?
Something irks as I put my hands
in the pockets of my Loro Piana suit.
Is it penitence…
the remorse for buying a name
at cost of what was once home,
sans a human touch now?

Pic from https://www.flickr.com/photos/burningmax/

Parminder Singh, an IT professional, is pursuing Ph.D. in English. He teaches English and also writes poetry and short fiction in English, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi. His poems have featured in books ‘Harbinger Asylum’ and ‘Shout it Out’. He has been published in journals such as ‘Criterion’, ‘Galaxy’, ‘Langlit’, ‘South Asian Ensemble’, ‘Out of Print’ magazine and ‘Muse India’.
  1. It is mother’s day today and when I read this poem the entire self of mine goes into a deep thought of what we all have been doing . Materialism and momentary gains all that rules out the true essence of life . The cause is put away in the race of endless and fulity desires .
    Much inspired by one of the best linguistic professor this poem is an alarming message to me in particular and the entire human commmunity at large . It is a wonderful peice of work and the message is strong enough to shake out humanity from people who have lost real aims
    Excellence put to exuberance indeed !

  2. Great poem with true picture, How we are far away from our home to fulfill own requirement/desire/need and somehow fulfill parent’s dream. Below are lines for this………..

    ===========Responsibilities============
    Majboor ka deti hai apna sahar chorne ko,
    Warna kaun apni gali main gina nahi chahta
    =================================

    Thank you
    Zahid Akhtar

  3. Very touching poem. Everyone who migrates for employment can relate to it. Simple and at the same time deep.
    Look forward for more poems.

  4. I enjoyed read this poem , because when a person wants to improve, he or she must withstand every difficulty until he or she become a successful person in the future.

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