Man to Superman to an Ordinary Dad

Inspired by a poem by my favourite poet Iqbal Asher

A Father is a very mystic character; sometimes you get very confused with his personality; he arouses mixed feelings in you as you grow; at times love, adoration, respect, awe, and sometimes hostility. As a son, I always found my father to be an epitome of everything that was imaginable, a magician who could make anything happen; in other words my Superman!

 When I became a father, I realized that I enjoyed replicating everything that my Dad had done.

I loved it every time my children held my finger tightly while walking with me or carrying them when they felt tired.

 I enjoyed feeding my children first instead of eating first; tucking them in for the night before I picked up my book that I was eager to finish reading or complete that semi-finished article I had started writing a week ago.

 Shopping meant entry into the kids’ store first, holidays would start and finish with trips to the zoo, rides in the amusement parks or picnics that would exhaust me but not them.

 School fees were a priority over the additional piece of furniture my wife and I always talked about. Later the college fees got prioritized over the car that I wanted to upgrade.

 Well, now that the children have grown up, my desires for them have taken yet another shade...

 I want them to view the world with their own eyes, in their own perspectives;

Break the ground on their own; explore their own paths instead of following my footsteps;

Give a new meaning to Love; provide a different definition for Success;

I yearn that they change gears, speed up; take their achievements to greater heights;

I crave for an opportunity to be separated; to be left behind by them;

I nurse a hidden desire to be defeated by them.

 I wish to let my Dad know that I do not want to be a Superman like him anymore; I want to be just an ordinary father of my SuperChildren...

~ Mazher H. Syed