A Mother's Mathematics

By Radhika R

Kavitha smiled in spite of the pain,

Heaviness her heart did gain,

As her child’s palms caressed the college prospectus,

Her heart’s desire to study surfacing tremendous!

Exterior appearing relaxed and undisturbed,

Kavitha’s mind was in turmoil and perturbed;

Would it be feasible to educate her girl?

Proved she had meritorious like a pearl!

Mentally she made an evaluation,

How her limited funds needed allocation,

To say no she hadn’t the will,

Her mind clouded at the task uphill.

If she had but a supporting soul,

Her pockets would not sport this hole.

She wondered why her husband didn’t sense,

The responsibility to add two pence

To run the family they had created together,

When they had been birds of a feather! 

His heart like stone he had walked away.

When his finances went astray.

She couldn’t fathom the sudden desertion ,

Had it not stirred his emotion?

A mother’s heart is so compassionate,

Love pours , yet she feels is inadequate:

While a dad can turn a total stranger,

When he feels his future is in danger.

“Maam, can you pay the advance fee?”

The voice roused her from her reverie.

She took her credit card from her purse,

Even as her logic went berserk,

Trying to warn her about the financial risk,

But her mother’s heart stepped in brisk,

It prodded her to plough ahead,

Even if it meant she had her head behead.

Her worries heavier, her purse lighter,

She looked at the face of her daughter,

She knew she had done the right thing,

In her child’s life had blossomed spring!

By Radhika R