Two Mothers Remembered
by Joann Snow Duncanson

I had two Mothers – two Mothers I claim,
Two different people, yet with the same name.
Two separate women, diverse by design,
But I loved them both because they were mine.

The first was the Mother who carried me here,
Gave birth and nurtured and launched my career.
She was the one whose features I bear,
Complete with the facial expressions I wear.

She gave me her love, which follows me yet,
Along with the examples in life she set.
As I got older, she somehow younger grew,
And we'd laugh as just Mothers and daughters do.

But then came the time that her mind clouded so,
And I sensed that the Mother I knew would soon go.
So quickly she changed and turned into the other,
A stranger who dressed in the clothes of my Mother.

Oh, she looked the same, at least at arm's length,
But now she was the child and I was her strength.
We'd come full circle, we women three,
My Mother the first, the second and me.

And if my own children should come to a day,
When a new Mother comes and the old goes away,
I'd ask of them nothing that I didn't do.
Love both of your Mothers as both have loved you.

বাংলা সারাংশ

কবিতাটিতে কবি তাঁর মায়ের দুটি রূপের কথা বলেছেন। প্রথম রূপে মা ছিলেন স্নেহময়ী, যত্নশীল ও পথপ্রদর্শক।

পরে বার্ধক্য ও স্মৃতিভ্রংশের কারণে তিনি যেন অন্য একজন মানুষে পরিণত হন। তখন মায়ের যত্ন নেওয়ার দায়িত্ব সন্তানের ওপর আসে।

কবি দুই রূপের মাকেই সমানভাবে ভালোবাসার বার্তা দিয়েছেন।