Take care of others' children...

Once there lived a man with his wife and pretty daughter.

They were happy and cheerful as they should rightly be.

One day the little girl fell ill and so the parents took her to the doctor.

The doctor checked the little girl before asking for his fee.

Medicines in the form of tablets and tonic, the doctor gave.

But the poor little girl became weaker and weaker.

The parents did all they could to see their little one dance like a wave!

Prayer will save her, the almighty blesses the seeker,

Some people cared to share their thoughts with the parents.

One wise person told them to take good care,

Of as many children as possible, that were born to other parents.

So the husband set out to end their nightmare.

He went from house to house feeding children with his hands.

Wishing and praying that his daughter gets well soon.

He visited houses that had children, both on near and far off lands.

He went at dawn and dusk, sometimes in the noon.

The father paid them money just so that he may feed their child,

As he would feed his daughter if she were well.

He had done everything for his child’s illness to become mild.

He was now left with nothing more to sell.

With failing hope he went to the last house with all that he had.

He fed the child, tears rolling down from his tired eyes.

There he saw an old lady, sitting all by herself, wrinkled and sad.

She never talked, though she was clever and wise.

She looked at him and asked why he was feeding others’ kids.

He told her his story, which filled her with empathy.

She had lived a long life and through her half closed eye-lids,

Looked at the devoted father with lots of sympathy.

“Son, the child born to some other parent is your wife,

Feed her well and your child will be well fed!

If she is happy and healthy, you will have a better life.

Now go home and live well”, she said!

Author’s note:

There is a saying which goes thus:

If you take care of other people’s children your child will be taken care of automatically. Recently I heard a different explanation to this saying. The poem above carries the essence of the new perspective to the old saying.

Though the original intent of the saying was that if everybody shared the responsibility of bringing up children in a neighborhood, your child also will be taken care of. The new explanation gives an interesting twist to the old saying. If all men took care of their wives (who are children born to other parents), then they become healthy mothers and in turn groom healthy kids.