A Mother’s Prayer

One day, unable to bear the raging fire,
I wept before my Lord in despair:
“Ya Allah, I can no longer bear this weight of life,
Grant me the nectar of death, end my strife.”

The Lord replied in a gentle tone,
“O foolish child, if I let your wish be done,
Then where shall I place the plea
Of that woman who traded her joy for thee?

That woman who, in every prayer, every night,
Asked only for your days to be filled with light.
Since the day you were born, her one refrain:
‘O Lord, let my child live, keep him safe in Your name.’

Tell me, how can I grant your yearning to die?
How can I let drought fall on a mother’s sky?”

And then I knew,
My life is not mine alone,
Each breath I take is bound by a mother’s prayer.

And perhaps that is why, even when I seek death,
God denies.

- A Mother’s Prayer
- Khubayb Hossain