Two poems, or a poem with another as a hyperlink

Abstract

The mothers and the mother-tongue & A missive unsent from another life
I had presented the Punjabi poem The mothers and the mother-tongue in the 6th Punjabi Language Week celebration in Dunedin last year and had been translating it since. Honoring the role of fathers at the same time, I have focused on the role of mothers in sustaining mother tongue, in my poem. Translation of the poem had turned out to be an exhausting unending work because it was not at all easy for me to deal with a significant hole in the poem only I knew of. The second poem; A missive unsent from another life included here, is my attempt to point at that hole.

The mothers and the mother-tongue carries a message. Instead of starting the poem from the message itself, I have chosen to tell the story of the upbringing of my own children, with their real names. As the poem tells, mothers’ role in their life has been of great significance. With humble gratitude, I trust both the culture of my children and the part of globe they are placed at the moment are proud of them, and I hope the same for future as well.