FAMILY HARMONY

Mother— You are the first sky I ever learned to trust, the lion who roared me brave into the world. Your arms were my fortress; your breath, my dawn. Every small triumph I hold—begins with you. I stand today with books in my hands and honor in my name, praised by the town, given a place of pride— but every step I climbed was lit by your courage, every path I walked was cleared by your labour. You chose a wife for me with hope trembling in your palms— you gave her to me as a blessing. So please, Mother—do not sharpen words into weapons, do not let a quarrel with her cut the home you built. If love between two women turns into battle, the roof will keep the rain of sorrow for us all. I cannot watch the light you made be broken into glass. I do not ask for grand portraits or hollow praise; I only beg for gentle hands and softer speech. Let patience be louder than pride, let forgiveness be the language of this house. When mother and daughter-in-law hold hands, the house breathes easy; when they fight, every room weeps. Let blessings fall where anger would have been. Let the peace you planted grow, untroubled, evergreen.