Words Left Unsaid

He had been harsh on the boy

Pushing him, egging him on to do better

And better, although he was quite bright

Bright enough to secure admission in the premier IISC


His heart swelled with pride that his boy

Was a maverick at quizzes, frequently winning prizes

At the state and national level competitions

Yet he never praised him thinking “it may go to his head”

It was to his mother that the boy turned for solace & comfort

Thinking that to his dad “He wasn’t good enough!”


The father thought that he had plenty of time later on

To chat up, joke, compliment, celebrate

For now, he would put on the tough exterior

Till the boy reached somewhere, became someone of repute


Little did he know that a freak accident would steal his son

25 was too young an age to die, a big blow indeed for anyone

To see your child precede you to the other world

The man was inconsolable, frequent bouts of sobs escaped his chest

His brain was numb, unable to come to terms with reality


As he sought professional support from a psychiatrist

He kept mumbling “If only I had told him, how much I loved him

Of how proud and blessed I was, to have a son like him!”

The hapless dad knew that those words left unsaid

Would haunt him for the remaining period of life…

NB: I recited this poem during the Seniors Today poetry meet on 31st July on the theme "Speculation"