Poems by
Mitu Mehrotra

A man who only loved his son

a poem by Mitu Mehrotra

There was a young boy, who thought that his father did not love him.
So he never listened to what his old man said.
One day the boy went up to his father and asked him for some money,
Knowing that it was for his friends, the father said he did not have any.
The boy slammed the door and went out in anger,
He made a vow never to ask any favor from his father.

Time went by and the boy started earning,
He became a rich man but not father caring.
Time changed and the rich man found himself in financial crisis,
He could not pay the lenders on his banks basis.
The man wanted to approach his dad,
But his vow held him back.
The man ran door to door for help,
But there was no one but himself.

The rich turned poor man was depressed and in pain,
To his surprise he found he was rich again.
The rich man was happy, went and thanked his friends,
Later he went to his father to narrate the entire incident.
“Only your friends help you”, was a son to father advise,
The father without uttering a word just shut his eyes.

The old man never got up again,
But his lad did not feel ashamed.
He went and opened his dead man’s trunk,
Finding a deposit slip, his heart sunk.

Tear-drops fell from his eyes,
As he finally did realize.
That it was his father who had made him rich again.
His heart filled with misery and pain,
‘A MAN WHO ONLY LOVED HIS SON’, was inscribed on his father’s grave.