Tranquil Storm

Who am I?
I am a proud mother
of two beautiful children,
A caring wife,
An obedient daughter.

What do I do?
Take care of my loved ones of course,
I am a good nurse.
I make a mean cup of tea,
I am also quite good with numbers,
I teach my boys,
And one day, I see them reaching for the stars,
The sky is the limit, isn’t it?

My son and I often play chess,
Only when I am free of my chores,
I cherish our time together,
It’s my indulgence of sorts,
Although, he is quite good at it too,
He’s beat me a time or two.
I tell him he could be a professional,
He tells me to take my own advice, that hellion!

And then someday,
he took me to a competition,
For me to compete, no less!
I did say no, told him I could never!
But maybe I wasn’t very convincing,
And maybe I didn’t want to be.
I was not a master at it,
but I was more than a patzer, could I win after all?

I played regionals and qualified for state!
I was beside myself, I’d never felt that way before,
Long before I knew, I was agreeing to my son,
I was going to play the state-level tournament.
I was a bundle of nerves, should I tell my husband?
Will he be vexed, or worse, mortified?
No, I can’t tell him. I should, but I’m too afraid.
I’m afraid I won’t even be able to participate.

And then I went, alone for the very first time.
I felt terrible about lying,
I told him I was going to attend a wedding,
But just like that, all was forgotten.
I always did take delight in chess,
But this was something else.
I was overwhelmed with excitement, eagerness,
Something akin to gratification.

I won. Nationals to come,
It was a feeling beyond anything I’d felt,
I was taking pride in my own achievement,
What I felt was indescribable,
But I was getting ahead of myself,
I am foremost a good mother, a caring wife.
It’s not becoming to have dreams for myself,
Now, is it?

But now that I’ve seen
Past my little world,
Now that I’ve tasted sweet, savoury freedom,
Now that I know my calling, my passion,
I am a tranquil storm.