Heeraba Modi - Farewell To Mother Of Our Prime Minister Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

Serene, simple and calm
till her last breath,
a gentle lady so full of grace and humility,
she was the mother of our Prime Minister;
so affectionate to her son,
so devout was her son to her as well
that though he was a Prime Minister,
he always respected his mother so earnestly
that in each other's company
a mother and child harmony was so paramount.

Today as she died and he was carrying her
on his shoulders for the final rites,
his sorrow he silently suppressed
and perhaps his eyes must have shed
so many tears of farewell
that only the skies could see
as the grief of losing a mother is so boundless
that no ocean can fathom
how deep and violent is that storm
that sorrow swivels in one's heart
when one loses a parent
who has cared and shared
all the ups and downs of life
with encouragement and unity so true
that only a child can know and remember
the sacrifices a mother makes
to fend and defend her child
whom she holds to her bosom in infancy
and vows to love him so endlessly.

And as no sorrow evades even the greatest
and as death is the only battle no one can win,
silently one has to accept the end of time
that destiny has written in life
that as the final hour lights the pyre,
a sorrowing heart walks back that road
and recollects all the affection and care
a mother bestowed and offered to her children
while she was young and vivacious.

And such was one mother called Heeraba
who lived in true simplicity and sacrifice
that not even in any dream
she must have ever imagined
her son would one day be the Prime Minister
of a nation called India;
and as she lived a full century
which was her own blessing,
she held no pride nor superiority
not even for a day as she existed;

O' yes, to live and die in simplicity
one would have live with Heeraben
and learn from her to raise sons
in dutifulness and commitment
and that is how a son was born from her womb
to be the Prime Minister of our country
though she might have taught him nothing
but a sense of patriotism,
she must have silently watched him rise
and she must have ardently prayed to Gods
to grace him with all the blessings he deserved
as he was so determined and focused.

And while he attained prominence,
she lived like a saint seeking nothing in return
as she was a woman so full of contentment,
simple and simplicity just described her so perfectly
that may heaven deserve her
and may she deserve heaven
in all its glory and magnificence
is all I can hope for and pray for.