"Mama, I Haven't Changed"
Gamal Moustafa
There are many people who pass through our lives, leaving memories that slowly fade with time. But there is one heart that remains with us from our first breath to our last—the heart of a mother. As the years pass and our hair turns gray, we often discover that, deep inside, we are still the children who once found comfort in her smile, safety in her embrace, and strength in her prayers. This is not just a tribute to my mother; it is a letter from every child whose heart still whispers the same words: "Mama, I haven't changed."
No matter how old we become, a part of us remains forever in our mother's arms, Photo by FreePik AI.
Mama, I haven't changed.
Mama, I'm still that mischievous child.
Mama, I'm still that dreamy child.
Mama, and you haven't changed either.
Mama, I still see that smile of yours when I see you.
Mama, I still need you to always be in front of me.
Mama, so I can forget all my pain.
Mama, I still need to rest my head in your arms.
Mama, I want to drink from the pulse of your heart.
Mama, I want to fill my depths with you.
Mama, years have passed, but whenever life becomes heavy, my soul still searches for your voice.
Mama, the world taught me many lessons, but your gentle hands taught me how to be human.
Mama, I have walked through crowded streets and met countless faces, yet no face has ever carried the peace I find in yours.
Mama, people say that I have grown older, stronger, and wiser, but inside me lives the same child who runs to you after every fall.
Mama, when sadness knocks on my door, I remember your prayers that followed me wherever I went.
Mama, when joy visits my life, the first smile I wish to see is yours.
Mama, you were my first homeland before I knew the meaning of countries.
You were my first school before I learned to read.
You were my first shelter before I understood what safety meant.
Mama, if life gives me another hundred years, I will still be too young to repay a single moment of your love.
Mama, do you remember those ordinary days that seemed so small at the time?
The mornings when you woke before everyone else.
The meals you prepared with tired hands and a loving heart.
The nights when you stayed awake beside my bed while I slept peacefully, never knowing how much of your strength was being spent for me.
Back then, I thought those things were ordinary.
Today, I understand they were acts of love.
Mama, life has taught me that true love does not always speak.
Sometimes it is hidden in sacrifice.
Sometimes it is hidden in patience.
Sometimes it is hidden in silent tears that nobody sees.
And now, when I look back, I realize that much of what I call my happiness was built from pieces of your own comfort that you quietly gave away.
Mama, whenever people praise me for what I have become, I wish they could see the woman standing behind every success, every good decision, and every beautiful value that lives within me.
Because before the world knew my name, you believed in me.
Before the world listened to my voice, you listened to my dreams.
Before I learned to stand alone, you carried me through storms I never even noticed.
Mama, if gratitude could become a river, it would still be too small to carry all that I owe you.
And if love could become words, every language on earth would still be too poor to describe what you mean to me.
Mama, there are people we meet and forget.
There are places we visit and leave behind.
But a mother remains inside her child's heart forever, like a light that never goes out.
Mama, if one day my hair turns white and my steps become slow, I will still look for you with the eyes of a child.
And if I cannot find you beside me, I will search for you in my memories, in my prayers, and in every beat of my heart.
Because some loves are not measured by time.
Some loves are not changed by distance.
And a mother's love is one of God's most beautiful gifts to humanity.
One day, every child discovers a painful truth:
That time moves faster than the heart wishes.
That the hands which once carried us grow weaker.
That the voices that comforted us grow quieter.
And that the people we love most cannot stay with us forever.
That is why, Mama, while you are still here, let me say what many hearts leave unsaid:
Thank you.
Thank you for every sacrifice.
Thank you for every prayer.
Thank you for every tear you hid behind a smile.
Thank you for loving me before I knew how to love myself.
Mama, I haven't changed.
I am still your child.
And wherever life takes me, a part of my heart will always be resting in your arms.
Mama, I haven't changed.
I am still your child.
And I always will be.
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