The age that was...

four

Crying and yelling all the way to school,
happily running into mother's arms after school,
learning to spell and write something weird,

smothering your pet bird with all the love in you,
possessing that shiny new bag, lunch box and water bottle,
looking at that girl/boy next to you, as if he/she is an alien,
merrily gorging on chocolates till stomach's full,
discovering colors and crayons...


ten

Feeling grown-up, just because you get to write with pens,
wanting to be the saviour of the Earth, like Superman,
carrying more books than you can,
discovering the importance of lunch break,
looking at the girl/boy sitting next to you, wondering why your stomach tingles,
saying words, even though you don't know what they mean,

talking to your baby bird, realizing they understand you better than humans,
learning the subtle difference between the colours Yellow and Golden...


fourteen

Reading your first-ever novel,
learning the difference between having a crush and liking someone,
physically grown-up, but still a ten-year-old kid inside,
discovering how much your parents love you back,

experiencing excitement to get into a college,
thinking and wondering about things, non-stop...

and discovering...

that you


Never, ever want to grow up.

I make you up...

I weave you into being, then deny your existence,

Hunt you down in the wild, my mind untamed.

Draw you near, then push you away,

In the recesses of my mind, dreams, reality lay.

A few steps together, on the path I tread,

Vanish from the course, where you lead.

Speak my thoughts aloud, yet silence prevails,

Echoes of a silent voice, in my head, its trail.

Summoning courage, I'm shattered by the riddle,

Soaring high, yet tethered to the ground a little.

Beside you, I wander, lost in contemplation,

Inside, a haven, a treasure in isolation.

Like verses etched dark on paper's embrace,

Enduring forever, with a blue-tinged grace.

Complex, beyond what may be conceived,

Simple enough for understanding to be received.

You, an everlasting mystery, I can't disentangle,

In the labyrinth of complexities, I often linger.