I'm sharing this Mother's Day post originally penned on another blogging platform a few years ago. As we celebrate this special occasion, I wanted to bring it home to my website, where it can resonate once more with the warmth and love it was crafted with.
Here we go...
The last period was English:
Around 20 years ago, I was sitting in yet another boring English class. It was the last period for the day which made it even more tiring. The name of the poem was “The Night of the Scorpion”. As my teacher kept explaining the poem, I found it slightly interesting and started getting glued to the subject. The poet’s mother was stung by a scorpion on a rainy night. The poet managed to explain the different characters like the villagers, who were superstitious and tried to comfort the suffering mother with their words on sins and previous birth; the father who was a rationalist tried all he could do to comfort his wife; and a holy man who was performing his rites tried his best to relieve her of her pain. I could visualize the rainy night the poet was talking about. After twenty hours of suffering, the poet says that she was relieved of her pain after uttering these words with which the poet decides to end the poem:-
“Thank God the scorpion picked on me
And spared my children.”
Altruism?:
These words seemed cliché to me. Somehow, I did not experience the emotions the poet would have expected from his readers. Most of the books, cartoons, and movies I had read always showed a mother as someone who would sacrifice her life. It looked too unrealistic to me. These emotional dialogues somehow had no appeal on me those days. Except for those 2 lines, I loved the poem for its simplicity and authenticity.
The Pain:
A few months ago, I was experiencing intense pain in my left ear due to an infection. My whole face was swollen and I couldn’t sleep for two consecutive nights. The painkillers had no effect. After three days of aggressive fight with the pain, a visit to the doctor relieved me on the fourth day. That morning taught me several lessons.
· Even if you're courageous with a strong fighting spirit, pain can render you vulnerable when it strikes with all its might.
· When it comes to 'pain,' the battle is yours alone; no one else can fight it for you.
When the doctor said the infection might be due to the salty water that might have entered the ear, the first few words I spoke were,
"Thank God the salty water entered mine
And spared my children”
The Lesson:
It took 20 years to accept and appreciate the exemplary work of Nissim Ezekiel and those legendary lines on mother’s love. All the books, cartoons, and movies keep talking about it and their sacrifices because it is so true and undeniably pure in its form. Another significant lesson was that even the greatest piece of art, an awesome performance, or a splendid poem will be appreciated by people based on their personal experiences. I was brought up by a single mother. So, imagine the sacrifices and love she would have showered on us. Most of us realize our parent’s sacrifices, only after becoming a parent.