Author | Nandita Dutta 

I am your author, you're the unfolding story,
on the pages of these racing years.
It began with books I read to prepare for you
about how you'll show me love has sides I have never seen before

hell, I don't even know what it meant before you. 

Where I'll be watching you grow
into the face you'll wear now,
the heart you'll put in your pocket
and wear on your sleeves
your acts of service; eyes of compassion
ears picking up things people don't even say,
the voice you will eventually put on -
standing up for what you want for believe in
commanding enough that you don't have to fight for it
soft enough that people will quieten to listen to you.

They won't quite reach the part
where after having to cuddle you, protect you,
dry your tears, fix your wounded knees,
finish your leftovers, millions of sleepless nights
and dirty diapers and stitches and stuck fishbones,
I get to see you as a person.

You may still be learning new things, but it's me that's marveling.
In so many ways - you know more about things than I do.
As we slowly proceed from boy and mom
to friend, confidante, book club buddy, PPT makers, lifehack person,
google calendar coach, cat gif sender, maker of faces,
healer of scarred hearts, clinger on, cheerleader
And it's not clear anymore who is what and when...
Because now you kiss and amuse me when I'm upset.

From holder of hand to cross the street
to holder of your dreams and ambitions to cross life.

The books told me the beginning would be amazing
but the middle we will have to figure for ourselves
And I didnt know how piercing it would be
to watch you grow into the other man of my dreams.

The cord was supposed to slowly give way
but it's only getting stronger..
Are you coming of age, or am l?

Nandita Dutta is a communications professional, coffee-addict, chronicler of her family’s life in photos and videos. Born in Kolkata, bred in Delhi, now she is firmly on the Mumbai side of Delhi-Bombay arguments. A gadget-nerd, she is a committed gymbro, has a TBR list that cannot be finished in one lifetime, and will extol the virtues of audiobooks to anyone who will listen. Some of her short stories have appeared in reflections.live, HotPot Magazine, Bitter Melon Review, and a memoir-style anthology (Author Magazine – Dear me :: Scribing Positivity: 25 Letters, Infinite Inspiration) available on Amazon. She is currently working on her first nonfiction book, and has another short story coming out in the fall, in an anthology of South Asian writers commissioned by Write Beyond Borders, and one in the inaugural issue of Outland Magazine.