The Empty Nest

A poignant poem about a mother whose children have grown up and flown the nest.

She got up early in the morning and made her morning tea

She sat sipping it slowly in the verandah green.

The tea was warm and sweet just as she wanted

But she drank it down as if it was totally tasteless.

She sat gazing at the bulbul’s nest and its little babies

One birdie started chirping at the sight of her mother,

Other was trying to learn flying from her father.

Time and again the bulbul came with all it could get to eat

It then fed all the food to the birdies with its tiny beak.

The old lady in the verandah sat quietly watching it all,

She got up suddenly looking at the clock

Its 7 am, time for my kids to leave for school

I have to make their lunch and pack their bags for school

She got up with excitement in fraction of a second,

Only to sit back slowly in the very next moment.

She felt lonely and upset trying to discard her thoughts

As she corrected herself, that till when she will be lost?

The kids are all grown up and settled in far off lands,

I better come out from my past and let the past begone.

The little birdie flew from one branch to another

Father bird rallied protectively, and mother gave a tweet,

Meanwhile the old lady, her heart skipped a beat.

She silently prayed for the bulbul

She may have the strength she needs

For the birdies have learnt to fly

It may translate to a goodbye.

The warm hugs, the love, laughter and the cheer

Were in a moment very fresh but silently made her cry,

She walked inside her living room

Stared at the frame of her child.

He looked happy with his wife and kids

At peace without her presence

She reached out for her phone to call,

Kept it back wondering, she might bother all.

She returned to her verandah.

This time she gazed at the ground

She told herself yet once again,

I will not see the birdies fly,

For they remind me of my pain

That I can neither tell nor deny!

Image Source: Pexels

Dr Farah Naqvi

Raised in an educated family from India Dr. Farah Naqvi did her schooling from a

Learn More