• Sujata Gautam posted an update 5 years, 2 months ago

    My Mother Is A Hero: Courage in the Time of Corona

    Smile every day she does
    As she rises
    In the time of Corona,
    Her presence at the store
    More essential than ever.

    People are swarming
    “Panic buying” they call it
    She comes home every day
    Recounting the next crazy occurrence
    That has happened: no toilet paper
    All the hand sanitizers are gone.
    Masks,
    People come in masks,
    Afraid to feel the breath of one another.

    “But Mother,” I want to ask,
    “Aren’t you afraid?” Her autoimmune disorder
    Is no small thing;
    I remember growing up,
    being afraid
    She might not be there
    One day.

    She throws her head back,
    laughs,
    saying,
    “I take so many pills anyways,
    Probably the same stuff they’d recommend for Corona!”

    I shake my head in wonder. Does she know,
    She is a hero?
    Going into the battle zone, every day?
    She’s the soldier, she always dreamed of being.
    On the front lines
    Serving those who need her.

    She and thousands of people, providing essential, critical services
    To those of us in hiding
    In this time of Corona.

    I used to wonder
    where I get my courage
    And today I realize
    It’s my mother.

    March 23, 2020