Distance

As the world comes closer, families grow farther

4 min readNov 5, 2024

They walked in, worried eyes…
He held her hand, guided her towards the chair…
She sat, letting out an exhausted sigh…
I waited, as she fiddled with her hair…

She has a lump doctor, he said,
She felt it some time ago…
I asked the nurse to help her on the examining bed…
Slowly, she stood up, holding the reassuring hand of her lifelong beau…

A small lump, an axillary node…
I suggested we do a small biopsy…
Hesitantly, but trustingly, she climbed aboard…
Praying under her breath, putting her trust in the Almighty…

Requesting to speak to me in private,
The husband, then helped her outside…
Can we do the tests later, his tone restrained but desperate…
Requesting me to abide…

At the age of 65, a hard lump in the breast…
It seemed early stage, so I asked why the need to wait…
I know doc, he said… “But I don’t want her to fret,
If we wait 5 days, I hope it doesn’t spread” …

But why though, I wondered aloud…
“My son’s coming from England on Sunday”, he replied…
I let out a hopeless sigh, without a sound,
Smiling instead, for the old man’s request was justified…

There are countless stories I have,
Of families separated by distance, a thousand miles…
Staying in touch via video calls and WhatsApp,
Living their independent lives, meeting once a while…

For opportunities, a better life, a better job, and whatnot…
Dreamed to live in a foreign land since a child…
The parents stay alone, expecting not…
For that’s “normal” now for them, to embrace their child’s exile…

Nuclear families being in vogue,
Society often judging those (still) living with their folks…
The concept to stay together, sounds rogue…
Connected by technology, “we talk daily” they boast…

The promise of “through thick and thin” applies…
Only to a husband and his dear wife, it seems…
Why don’t we renew those vows as families…
For parents never seem to be a part of their children’s career-dreams…

As parents, they never say No, or hold their child back…
But their hearts must mourn at this ‘loss’, won’t they?
Making sure their child never feels a lack,
They accept the hurt, not revealing their dismay…

After all, traditionally parents are to provide…
So they must always give, for that’s their purpose…
Their children shall always remain their pride…
Doing anything for their lives to be prosperous…

Old age is an uncertain time though,
For body, heart, spirit and mind…
To rely upon their wards when their eyes lose their glow…
Hoping for family to be a safety net, after a life of grind…

The son returned, taking a week’s leave…
We’ll do further treatment there doc, he said with poise…
He added “They’ll do better with me around I believe”…
I nodded in agreement, choosing to silence my voice…

Surgery and chemo, I knew the treatment course…
To take it in a foreign land, uprooting your life here…
It sounded a fair trade to the son of course…
His life’s there, so his parents must come with him to be near…

A lifetime here, in a town where they built a life…
Of friends and family — she must leave everything now…
With cancer she’ll live, he might as well give her a knife…
For she was expected to manage in a foreign land, some how…

Take me away to a foreign land, in my prime…
Give me no choice, but I’ll still take time to adjust…
Doing that at 65 to your parents, is it not a crime…
“I can’t be here, so they must come there, they must…”

What bothers me is the audacity…
With which they dictate what’s right for their parents…
To know right from wrong is beyond a child’s capacity…
Taking responsibility of our parents, is not just some to-do errand…

I pray your children don’t do the same to you…
That love doesn’t seem a foreign concept when you need them someday…
When the day comes and your time is due…
I hope your children aren’t away…

And if your parents are alive, but far,
I pray you introspect and realise…
That Love and family, hold such divine value in life’s memoir…
And to live without either, is a life of compromise…