Memory of the Calves
In my parent's backyard
Like people love their cats and dogs,
I loved our backyard calves.
They were my childhood friends.
I stroked their fur and jowls,
admired their pitch-black snouts
and lash-framed innocent eyes.
I fed them tender bamboo twigs
and ripe garden guavas.
As I studied under the shade of
orange and mango canopies,
they came to check on me.
I hugged them, showing love
while their mothers were away in pastures.
Such loving, sweet creatures!
Now, I am an immigrant,
I have no calves to play with,
but nostalgia keeps me company.
So I paint them —
recalling every emotion, every gaze,
as they looked at me, with trust
in my parents’ backyard.
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" ~ Gandhi
About the Creator
Seema Patel
Hi, I am Seema. I have been writing on the internet for 15 years. I have contributed to PubMed, Blogger, Medium, LinkedIn, Substack, and Amazon KDP.
I write about nature, health, parenting, creativity, gardening, and psychology.
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Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
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Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
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Niche topic & fresh perspectives
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Writing reflected the title & theme
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Comments (24)
"Very insightful."
Beautiful art and poetry, Seema. I love animals, and this reminds me of my childhood friend's farm, where I spent many days. Congratulations on your top story, and I am sorry I am late reading and commenting on such a lovely piece!
Oh my! This touched my heart in deep places...ALL the right ones. Beautiful! Thank you for allowing this view into your life. It is precious and means so much. I appreciate you for this. Top Story congrats!
Give me chills of the best kind. Excellent work, Seema!
I love this line “but my nostalgia keeps me company” - beautiful piece!
So tender and beautiful. Well written!!! Congratulations on your Top Story!
Very well written, congrats 👏
Beautiful poem Seema! Your drawing is beautiful too. Congratulations on Top Story!
Great one dear you have written well, congratulations 👏🏼🎉
So beautiful and reminiscent! You captured a childlike magic here.
Congratulations on the Top Story. 🎉
Beautiful simply beautiful ♦️♦️♦️♦️
🎉 Congrats on getting Top Story! 🌟 So well deserved — I’m super proud of you! 🙌💖 I seriously can’t wait to read the next one… I know it’s gonna be just as amazing! ✍️🔥 Keep shining! 💫
As someone who once raised chickens, this is close to my heart.
This is so lovely and beautiful 😻
They’re so soft. I still remember how lovely it was to cuddle them 🥰
Back to say congratulations on your Top Story! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
This waa so beautiful! I love the painting! Congrats on top story!
Beautiful painting and poem. It's so soft yet aches in the chest with a deep sense of longing. You've really captured something stellar here. It's going into my saved pieces for sure! Loved this and congrats on the Top Story!
Childhood memories always hit harder in exile.
You can paint! This is wonderful! I love your poem too. Both the painting and the poem are beautiful! 💖
This is such a tender, heartwoven memory — full of softness, sunshine, and love.✨
It must have been so nice playing with them. I love your painting and poem!
Beautiful memory. Nice poem