A smack from Joe!

April is apparently National Poetry month. I haven't really signed up for any of those write a poem a day marathon. Thankfully :) But when I can, I decided I shall try to post a few verses. It's been ages since I wrote a decent poem, plus the fact that all ideas seem to hit me after i've hit the bed, do nothing to improve the quality. This is my first attempt. And yeah ignore the punctuation, I'm extremely bad at it :)

For prompts go here.

Prompt: Routine

Not the alarm

or the milkmaid.

Not even the neighbour's 

crazy dog

or the sparrows it chased.

It has always been

"Ammai Kaapi!" -

her very own wake up call.

"Ammai Kaapi!"

Some years on the sofa,

bleary eyed and in pigtails,

a hot tumbler of foaming love and

the lost slumber easily forgotten.

"Ammai Kaapi!"

Moments on a plastic chair

and one last gulp

trickling down the throat

like appa's advice -

a melancholy slow march.

Twenty years later

"Ammi Kaapi!"

Another day, another wake up call.

She looks at her smile,

sinfully delicious.

Her tiny hands reach out 

from the crib.

Who changed the alarm?

While you were sleeping...

I can't remember the last time I had a really sound sleep.

Wait! I do remember. It was the night of Jan 3rd, 2008. After finally realising that the baby was in no hurry to make an appearance, they gave me some sleeping pills and I was knocked out flat. After that I haven't slept. Period.

No I am NOT exaggerating. All those who very sweetly suggest I 'sleep when the baby sleeps', are welcome to take my imp home and try to do the same. It just ain't possible. Primo, really tiny babies seldom sleep for 6 hours at stretch. Secundo, when they do sleep soundly, it is truly 'soundly'. They snort, whimper, smile, laugh, cry....in short they make such a big deal out of soft noises that you end up sitting awake and staring at the li'l bundle. (To all those who claim they get no calls/emails/blogposts on time - I am one helluva sleep deprived Mommysaurus.)

Thirdo (I do not know Spanish, so excuse) you just aren't sleepy when they are asleep. Like now. The Imp is finally in bed and she would be taking her power nap for another hour or so but for the life of me, I am unable to sleep. I tossed and turned, wrote 2 posts and 2 stories in my head, made a to-do list for The Mr to tackle and finally gave up. 

It's like the bedtime song I sing to her, 'Kaalamithu Kaalamithu' from the movie 'Chithi'...as a girl you get to sleep only at birth. I guess my time to sleep is over and done with. Somewhere down the line, without my knowledge I must've grown up. Darn it!

There are lullabies to be sung, cookies to bake, stories to share and dances to swing to...sigh. I don't think I'll be sleeping any time soon. What if she 'grows up' while I am sleeping?

Image Right

Hidden in every fold
is the reason
to live another day.