Birthday for Vikram
A birthday message for your son,
a greeting he must hear.
Tell him congratulations
for thriving another year.
It’s true I hardly know him
but I like him just the same.
A fine young man he’s proving to be.
Very polite in a manly way.
One year older
and hopefully wiser,
growing smarter every day.
He will stay true to his path,
as you raise him in his way.
With a loving eye a mother watches,
as child becomes a man.
Always wanting him to succeed,
and do the best he can.
Very thankful for her son,
such a blessing she has received.
Children are a gift from God,
I absolutely believe.
Love, when it is genuine, extends beyond the two people at its center. This poem steps outside the intimate world of Scott and Priya to acknowledge Vikram — Priya’s son, and a young man Scott is only beginning to know. It is a small poem in length but significant in what it represents: a man willing to love not just the woman but the life she has built.
I include this poem in the collection because Vikram is part of Priya’s life and therefore part of mine. I did not want to write only about the romantic dimensions of this love and leave out the fuller picture. Priya is a mother, and watching her love her son is one of the things that has deepened my respect for her. This poem is a small offering to them both.