THE SHAWL AND BELL TO CRAWL IN HELL

Long Ago in Arizona valley,
There lived a happy family.
A father, a mother and a son,
Lived united as if one.
The father, the bread earner of the house,
The mother, homemaker, the father’s spouse.
And the one, who kept them on the run,
Was their only, darling, apple eyed son.
For whom they could trot on the hem,
Was their son, their priceless gem.
For whom the mother spent sleepless nights,
Took precautions to keep him away from blights.
The father got his son all he desired,
And never complained even if tired.
Together the two had a common sight,
Which was to make the son’s future bright.
And more than that all above,
They gave their son unconditional love.
Time flew and tides rolled,
The son was now twenty-seven years old.
A man of substance, a man of might,
Who thought what he did was always right.
He made it big, and began to work,
And to his personality it was a perk.
They were so happy for their boy,
That their eyes usually over flew with joy.
The son now left the home,
And took another house in Rome.
Yet on every success that he had,
Happiness struck his mom and dad.
Time came for him to get married,
His conjugal vows he candidly carried.
But in his choice he made a flaw,
And brought them home a wicked daughter-in-law.
The one makes not but breaks the house,
The joy the lights she does douse.
A year from then a new member was born,
The son then had a son of his own.
The father and mother now had a new friend,
He made them happier he made them grand.
Then time played it trick again,
Which left the father in deep vain.
It was time when he got tired,
And that’s when he retired.
But the father had the assurance,
That his son was as good as life insurance.
The son was the one thought to be sage,
The pillar, the support to the father’s old age.
The father now lived with his son,
All was settled all was done.
But the son didn’t wish to be the warden,
He took his parents to be a burden.
His affection towards them remained static,
And gave them room in his attic.
The daughter-in-law had a nerve,
She told her hubby she would not serve.
She made an unlikely request,
Not to have the pair of unwanted guest.
She didn’t want them to dare,
And poke their nose in her affair.
Hence the father was given a bell,
And the apple-eyed son did tell.
“ Whenever you need anything,
Ring the bell and I’ll bring.”
The father soon began ringing,
And the son began bringing.
The grandparents loved their grandson,
He brought some joy, he brought some fun.
But the jealous daughter-in-law,
Soon realized after she saw.
That her mother-in-law showed a lot of care,
Towards her son, how did she dare?
She stopped her son from going up,
And for the same she kept a pup.
Many hours and days passed by,
And no one asked the reason why.
Soon the bell gave no ring,
Silence is what the attic began to sing.
When the son went up, the father had died,
It was then when he cried.
Not because the father was dead,
Because he left no will by his bed.
But the son could not tell,
Why the father didn’t ring the bell.
The mother’s health also did detoriate,
Yet no one paid heed to her state.
Soon the son and his wife,
Got fed up of mother’s life.
They gave her a cotton shawl,
And decided to leave her by the mall.
The son told her mother,
For heaven sake do not bother,
We have tolerated enough,
Be it your cold or be it your cough.
The grandson out of the blue,
Cut the shawl into two.
When he was asked why,
He said with a sigh.
“I took the bell from grandpa before he ran cold,
And would give it to you father when you grow old.
I cut the shawl in half with the help of this knife,
To give the other half to you mom when I get a wife.”
Many old faces have the same story,
Where their own children have given them this glory.
When they don’t want their parents to come and dwell,
Is when they themselves push these old people into hell?
To those unruly millions this thought I’d like to sell,
Never give your parents a shawl and bell to crawl in hell.