I am growing up now,
Waving goodbye
To the sunday picnics,
To the sweets galore,
To the bed-time stories,
To the thrill of swinging.
I am growing up now,
Ushering in
The quiet commitments,
The paperwork,
The hectic schedule,
The unwanted attractions.
Lost in the sands of time
Are my wild dreams
Of finding fairies
In the spring flowers.
The magic pot of gold
At the end of the rainbow,
Is no more my desire.
Now I maintain
My own life,
Away from home,
Away from my roots;
Making new, difficult decisions,
Making my own mistakes.
No more does my dilemma
Lie within choosing between
Chocolate cake or ice-cream for dessert.
Now I see
The orientation of petals
Than the beauty
Of the flower itself.
However...
Somewhere in the mesh of growth,
Interwoven with the hurtful experiences,
Lies an urge
To break all norms,
To usher in the fairies
That made nightmares
Magically disappear;
To welcome
The warmth of the sun,
To sit
Under the cool shade of the peepal trees,
Play silly games,
Just run around freely;
Without the shackles of routine,
Of commitments,
Binding me to a place,
I don't even call my own.
The paperwork may pile,
My commitments may continue to rise,
But, this world
I call my own,
This world that gives me
Strength and courage,
An unnatural faith in myself,
Will grow with me;
And preserve
The dreams of the child
Who is no more...
And preserve
The dreams of the child,
And its heart of gold.
-Me
