Detox

Erase, erase…

The harried look, the scowl, and the age spots.

Scrape off, scrape off…

The freckles, crow’s feet, and the furrowed forehead.

Dissolve, dissolve…

Pretentious expressions groomed for survival.

Peel off,  peel off…

The hardened mask of intellect.

Give back, give back…

A spark of wonder to ageing eyes.

Let my laughter become

Carefree, ringing, full-throated

And like that forever stay.

Then and only then…

I may truly resemble my child

As you say.

(I am often told that my child resembles me and vice versa. I consider it a huge compliment because, along with the impish looks, I can lay some claim to the vivacity, the innocence that I had once possessed in the same measure. He is miniature me, yet he is not me at all. He is his own person. Ever noticed how the same resembling features gentle and innocent in a child appear hardened and weather-beaten in a parent? A child’s face while bearing the same likeness, is brighter and supple in comparison. Like Gulzar says in one of his popular songs ‘Kore hain karare hain, bhoon ke utare hain’. Their features are like new shoots in bloom: soft and tender. The child resembles the parent but not exactly. This poem aims to capture that conflicting sameness.