The Hidden Treasure

Inside the storeroom it was dim and hushed,

Rarely did she go there, to find something used much,

Myriad things stored there not touched long,

From old canisters to worn clothes and old toys,

Once new and used by her children, now covered in dust,

She never threw any, keeping them all safe beneath,

Her house, where the rest of the knick knacks are stored,

A small room, yes! It was the storeroom, she seldom visited,

Much of those years have fled on the wings of time,

It was so burdensome and strenuous to carry all the time,

In her lap one child and the others holding her hands,

She looked into the mirror, those emerging fine lines,

Her hair turning grey, often feeling dead tired at times,

Much of her youth passed away in bringing up all four,

Soon they all had grown the wings of maturity,

Fled to their own worlds, now is her nest empty,

The seconds turned minutes, minutes into hours,

Hours turned into days and days into years many,

Her house is now clean, as there is nothing much to clean,

No dirty clothes, no toys spread here and there,

Sounds of loud fights and then loads of giggles,

The children running all around laughing and yelling,

She has everything so fresh in her mind, it seems,

Like yesterday, all the images and sounds of their chirping,

Still rings in her ear, it’s a feeling she alone knows,

There are days when she misses them all, deeply, badly,

She silently goes to the small room beneath her abode,

Yes! The storeroom where there is a hidden treasure,

A box full of their toys and a box filled with their memories,

It’s a hidden treasure, much hidden in her chest,

Still smelling that essence of her children from their old clothes,

She sits there long, trying to know when they all grew,

Trying to know, when did they all flew,

It’s a hidden treasure, much hidden in her chest,

The jewel she always wore of their tender arms,

Around her neck is vanished somewhere, and is,

Vanished somewhere with time that young lady,

Who once was a mother so beautiful with small children in her arms…………………………..

*Monalisa Joshi*