My Niece

A little bundle of joy,

Who would readily trade food for a toy,

Made me lost in time, this past week.

Mirrored in her, I could see my childhood

With her gurgles and her chortles,

Her ready 'thank you' and her mystical talk,

She merrily led all our plans awry that we dared to chalk.

But her welcome smile at the end of the day

Gave me a sense of completion.

'You are pinni', never meant so much till that day,

With her little arms wrapped around me

She made me feel that I belonged with her.

Moments were for 'her' and not for 'me'

For the very first time in my life.

Where did this tenderness come from

When I held her?

When she pulled my hair

Why did the world seem so fair?

My hands ache with her weight… I complained.

But why… when she cried, they reached out to protect her.

Well… maybe that's just the way it is.

Some things will never change.

There are so many things that I want to share with her,

So many reflections of life that I want to pass on.

Soon many tomorrows will come in her life,

And though I wish I could open her life to a new paradise,

Make life everything but less than perfect for her,

I know she has to tread the path alone, like we all did

But I can wish and pray that

God gives her my share of happiness,

Gives her the strength and fortitude to open closed doors

And makes all her dreams come true always.

For I want to be her friend and her reality and everything in between,

Who will always be on her side.

Sure I think a lot about her,

For I still marvel,

Why of all the families in the world,

She chose ours to grace with her wonder.

And I hope that in the years to come,

She would still let me show what she would mean to me always.

By : Usha S. Vempati
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