Siddhi Soman - Nurture

Poet Siddhi Soman escorts readers to her childhood in rural India, evoking nostalgia, wistfulness, and sorrow about what’s been left to decay with her poem “Nurture”. With lines which begin bright and luminous to the senses, “Nurture” begins to fade into a sense of loss and even grief. “Being an immigrant, a woman of colour, a technologist and a mother has led me to experience a multifaceted life, but always with a lower grip on belonging and uncertainty around ultimate purpose,” Siddhi told The Dewdrop, adding that “Nurture” explores these personal insectionalities. Originally from India before migrating to the United States, Siddhi explained, “The inspiration from ‘Nurture’ comes from Indian villages and small towns. Growing up, I spent many happy summers visiting family in these villages and smaller towns and those simpler, charming times are definitely dwindling.”

Nurture

Childhood summers,
Of mangoes and jackfruit and betel nut plantations,
Of forest walks and firewood cooking,
Of swings and lagori and tree climbing,
Of farm picnics and river dips,
Of books and festivals and gully cricket,
Of the anticipation of monsoon’s embrace,
Nostalgia abounds.

Opening the doors to the abode of memories,
It is only the happy ones that linger,
The others would become someone else’s stories.

The bricks and ruins, the ramshackle remains,
An imprint of untroubled times, downfall interwoven,
Exuding contentment.

With everyone striving for a simpler life,
There is no one left to nurture it.

Siddhi Soman

Siddhi Soman is an engineering leader and technologist residing in San Francisco. Her poems are forthcoming in literary magazines like Beyond Words and Cathexis Northwest Press. She enjoys fantasy fiction, a well made cup of tea and spending time with her family and friends which includes the brightest light of her life, her four year old daughter.