Words
He only saw a speech bubble from the
paper's cartoon section.
The facial expressions and gestures
were clear-that is the action.
'Hagar the Horrible' waving a sword
in the name of protecting the nation.
All that he saw in a paper's section.
And he yearned to grasp its meaning.
It's the funny characters that seized his
attention.
For though they were segregated they
showed some relation.
A jewel they seemed to be - why would
mom fix her eyes on them for so long?
Neared to her lap he did,
But mom put her cartoons down and
gave him a 'STOP NOW' glare.
Being a tiny toddler of two years
His curiosity no one could silence.
From his still barren vocabulary, he
managed to pull out a 'what' question.
With his worm-like finger he was able to
point at the section in question.
Albeit her irritation, the mother managed
to say:
Son,
When I was two years your senior
These characters you see invaded my
eyes bits by bits
In groups they went straight into my mind.
They further regrouped,
And, finally, I realised.
They were alphabets
Mating to form words
Words that formed sentences
Sentences that told a story
A story of grief and misery
And of happiness and jubilation.
And there I was
Hungrily swallowing it in
Blades escaped their sheaths
To force their way
Through my chocolate skin
So that tears streamed down my face
For I was but just reading.
Son, you will realise and comprehend,
In time.
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