Sowmya Hiremat

When I was little, dad sat me down & said:

Be strong and also soft
Be a storm and make sense
Be fierce but also funny
Be a fire that glows fine 
Be smart and sorted

Be a forest and a flower
Be silent and spoken about
Be a fury tempered by falls
Be dark that holds the light
Be a symbol seared by truth.

Be a force that all desire 
And want in their corner
Be a warrior your enemies
Fear but truly honor 
Be a blade that cuts deep..

But also melts fiercely
Be a siren that gods call
But destroys demons
Be a legend that becomes
A myth but is the truth

I mulled about this when little & when not so little..

Three decades later
And after a lot of life 
I finally saw them 
The magical beasts - 
His words come to life

As creatures alive - 
I could see, touch & realize 
The true meaning of  the
Deep wise wisdom of my 
Dear old man’s old advice.

I was again the wee lass
Wide eyed, magic marked
Feverishly putting together
The puzzle of decades 
After bumping into these..

Long nosed goofy, seven
Footed puppies who seemed
To know exactly what my
Papa was philosophising about
I was jealous but then love reigned.

I giggle at times at this strange wee miracle!

I wish dad was here and
I could proudly present 
To him my small learnings
And my umpteen falls, failures,
My Foolish, fiendishly fab friends ..

Who have pointy ears and
Spook at everything and 
Yet remain formidable 
Without a sliver of effort 
Leaving me happy n tired, all at once . 

They are just like him, with
His stern but sweet dad 
Like actions sans words
But full of love that left
Deep marks on my heart;

That glow like Christmas lights 
On snowy dark winter nights
Leaving teary trails that lead
Me in a trot straight to my
Long nosed & pointy eared flock!

Am a wee lass in love with them, like I am with dad❤️

Life does come full circle 
If one is patient & persistent
With eyes to see & ears to listen
It turns into a beautiful story 
That flushes your cheeks red..

And keeps your soul fully fed
And you live with a boisterously 
Beating heart which has a voice
And one which doesn’t let you
Leave with any words unsaid .. 

After all this time 
It feels like yesterday 
And I want to tell dad 
I understand now, 
The meaning of his words..

I can’t promise if I’ll
Be all that he wished
But I cross my heart 
That I will die trying 
To be all peaceful f that he wanted.

And I hope he hears me and smiles ..