You can’t be both,

A happy mother & a successful working mom,

There was never such a thing as above,

Make a choice, you will have to,

When you grasp the tiny finger,

Withdraw, you can’t be happy forever…

Teach her to love,

Then teach her a thing about separation…

Soon she will get used to the absence, but would you?

 

Every day I leave her, I put up a brave face,

I am scared to get too used to her smiles,

I need to focus,

The reality is vile.

You’re not just a working mother,

You’re also a working woman,

So every moment is a challenge,

& the logics are weighed on a patriarchal scale.

 

I want to compete with men,

Be just like them,

Then I remember she must be waiting

& expecting this stranger anytime,

There is so much I will never be able to do,

Because I still can’t make a choice,

Her love is stronger &

So is my pride.

 

Does every mom choose?

Or does it come easy to them,

Are they allowed a refuge or

Are they always confused?

I still want both the worlds,

Someday, maybe she will understand,

Why I left her behind the doors &

Why I could never take a stand.

Ⓒ Prakriti Kundaliya