No Going Back

Kinfolks abound Divali eve, missing was the old man’s turban
Parade of lit oil lamps were gone too with the man

Inviting childhood memories from miles thousands

Uncovered my recollects of playing games of ‘rolling stones’
Watching semi-clad tribal lasses hauling bamboo batons
Riding bicycles soaked to the skin in the monsoon rain

Desires drove me to old abode treasured from seven seas away

Same old winding dirt lanes, yet no familiar faces passed by
Smooth sandy backyard stashed with trashy petty needs.
Undoing the grandpa’s deeds, annoyed the angry boy in me

Century old sacred tree stood next to the family shrine

The tree with hallowed stature to mother was false notion
“It was aged” said the lady with no regard for growing old
Quickly reflected, should I depart to make place for the broods?

Appalling peer pressure replaced the elegance of innocence

Nurtured natural pedigree was ruffled by the naïve thinking
My home of yore, my childhood home had gone out of me
Selfish fiber of possession sighed “fear of change be blamed”

Kinfolks abound Divali eve, missing was the old man’s turban
Parade of lit oil lamps were gone too with the man

Raj Gaonkar, November 5, 2009

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