Dying Father

It's been eighty years
And a million miles
Where I was born

I enrolled in World War II
I traveled to foreign lands
I did my duty
To provide for the family

I gave my sweat and blood
As a lonely indentured slave
Far from my homeland
In a holy, loveless desert

I saved a lot of money
I had nine children
But something went wrong
Their treatments cost too much

I read a hundred books
On the personalities of sages
I had a few death calls
But I didn't mend my ways

I performed the worship rituals
I thought I was a success

Now I'm losing breath
But still shielding against the cries
To correct the wrongs
A few days before I die

Fazeel Azeez Chauhan
4-8-99