Nine yards long, carrying pure elegance with her, Sun-shades and a fragrant gajra donned her look.

An absolute diva of her time yet fate chose otherwise,

Alzheimers’ slowly stole away all memories and glow.

Her daughter, my mother, never once turned away. Did every bit she could, not from obligation but sheer love, This, you all, is the woman who changed my life.

A school teacher by calling, grandpa’s eldest of sibling,

Vigour and might, she held house till grandpa became chartered.

No child of her own, she treated my mother as her one. When age softened her days and she yearned for comfort, My mother, without hesitation, embraced her with care.

Not a flinch, not a flight, my mother cared as her own mother!

This, you all, is the woman who changed my life.

Doctor by qualification, teacher by profession, mother at heart.

Looked like my mother, they said, as they walked past.

Mother’s younger sibling, as was her life even younger!

Lost to cancer early, as my mother watched helplessly.

Every day night my mother prayed and showed no despair, Faced the world with a smile, while being broken on the inside.

This, you all, is the woman who changed my life.

A researcher of stories, written in the smallest of lives.

My mother’s daughter has now become so bright.

Learning under the wings of a woman so strong,

Mother taught her to face the world, no matter what.

For every obstacle is just a test Ma always says,

Need to think outside the box, for there’s always hope.

This, you all, is the woman who changed my life.

My mother, the only one I look up to for slightest of things, Been through everything, yet composed for the world!

Immense respect for doing what you’re doing, Ma!

I cannot fathom what you must be going through,

Yet you always show up for us, whenever we need you.

So much you’ve taught, I can’t thank you enough, For this, is the woman who changed my life!