My Son And His Old Man

By Rajat Meresh

Just like yesterday, he was in a diaper

Crawling up to his favourite toy

He needed his whole hand to grasp my finger

And it was my company he’d enjoy

I worried he may get hurt

But he whizzed past with breakneck speed

And I was left in the dirt

Wondering where he came from, awestruck by what he’d achieved

Born nineteen years ago, he had no teeth and hardly any hair

Now he’s good-looking, talented and bright

I'm frequenting the dentist and going bald – how is that fair?

He's also better with technology but only that, right?

Well, he has a gift for music, academics and some sports

And when he has the time, he’s fun to be around

I, on the other hand, don’t have much to report

And he can also wrestle me to the ground

On his toy phone, he used to like talking

Now compared to mine, his devices are more advanced

He'll soon have a plum job and money he’ll be raking

And I still haven’t learnt how to dance

He chats till late with his girlfriend, makes music and finally, studies

Sometimes, I pull rank, being Dad

But mostly, I'm proud and happy

Even though he sees me as some kind of clown – I guess that's too bad.

By Rajat Meresh