My mother doesn't speak much,
But smiles, smiles a lot.Â
She gets awkward when I hug her
But sends a good morning text with ten flower emojis
My mother struggles to be angry
Choosing, instead, to stare into the distanceÂ
She owns probably just five pair of earrings
But gets immensely happy after buying fresh green vegetables
She has never been out of the country,
And has never seen the beach
But finds solace in balconies.Â
She likes to keep windows open,
And make tea for the maid sometimes
She says writers tend to live in their own world sometimes,
And politics is all about making false promises the loudest
She can't understand why anybody would like KFCÂ
When they can have chicken curry
My mother,Â
Has been battling cancer for years now
But tells me to follow my dreams
To see countries, and mountains, and beachesÂ
And I wish I could tell her,
That on some days,
I'd rather watch her quietly sip tea,
Than be in any other place across the seas.
Shruti's poems can be found on Instagram.