Mother

a poem by Srinivasan L

I had an intense fever the other day
My head ached and my legs pained.
My doctor tested me in his own way
And said,”You are not well, my boy!
Take these tablets twice a day
And these capsules, thrice a day.”
I paid his fees and came home.

Two days were gone.
I travailed and squirmed in the bed
And the tablets did not work.

My mother returned from the village
And saw me lying in the bed.
She touched softly my heavy eyes
And asked, “What’s wrong with you, my son?”

She sat beside me all the night
The next day, I was alright!