Priceless moments

A mother laments,
For he's always away,
The father of her child,
Her husbands gone all day.

The evening approached quietly,
As the sun set behind the sky,
Her baby was growing restless,
He had begun to cry!

She sang a little song,
To keep him at bay.
It went on in this manner,
Here's what she had to say.

"Oh little baby,
Shall you not go to sleep?
Oh my little baby,
Please do not weep.

The night sky has darkened,
The stars twinkle bright!
A blanket it is,
Of dreams in your eyes.

Oh little baby,
Papa isn't coming now,
Oh sweet baby,
Do I explain to you how?

For papas running late,
He's working hard for you,
It may be hard to imagine,
At the tiny age of two.

It's all for you sweet baby,
For when you grow older,
A life he wants to give you,
With no trouble on your shoulder.

Don't be crying now,
He shall be coming soon,
Please stop whining now,
You're up since noon!

It may seem absurd,
When he stays away from you,
It may seem silly,
The hours left are few.

He's suffering in your absence,
I can see it in his eye.
He loves you so dearly,
Oh why do you sigh?"

The baby thinks to himself,
"Why papa does so?
He's doing it all for me.
Yet far from me does he go.

I need him now to hold me
Make me fall asleep,
On his shoulder, in tender care,
To wipe my tears as I weep."

He had missed his first steps.
As also the first uttered words.
No effort he made to be home early,
It was beginning to get absurd!

Perhaps the money shall be made,
When the baby grows older.
For now he's missing the priceless moments,
Blissful seconds with his toddler.

***

Painting by Laxman Aelay. Taken from an online article