(A poem written as a 'Farewel Message' to a colleague
who resigned during my tenure with FDC Ltd., Mumbai)
There were days... when we flew over the world
As happy as ever, like a free bird...
Come, everyone and everything, would -
At a snap of fingers, good..!
Struggle our parents would,
To let us feel good...!
In our happiness rested
Every bliss of their minds...!
Those were the days when we were
Free to let our minds go anywhere
Wandering, searching the ultimate pleasure
That we thought, lay, elsewhere...
Friends we had, who would
Tell us stories yet untold
Those who'd come to our backyard
To share our pretty moments, glad...
And, well, those who told
Stories of all kind
And stayed with us, right in the cupboard..!
Well, 'Books', weren't they called..?
*****
Then... We grew up...
(The only thing that we waited eagerly for..!)
Think, we did, that
We'd be free, to do what we please...
But Alas...! have a look...
Where have we reached.?
And what have we gained...?
Achieve we did, things many,
So longed for, all through those days,
But... thought, did you give
To what we had lost..?
Lost, we have, the Paradise we lived in
In those days of 'free flight'
Lost, we have, that freedom,
Struggling to live up
To what others look upon us for...!
It's time for us to don that mantle
The one our parents did
Striving to keep our kids good..!
(well, it's 'NA'• for me for now..!)
Gone... Gone are those days when
Time we had, to long for heavens...
Gone are the days when we could
Live the life of a happy bird..!
Find some time, we can't
To do what all we want
Time it's, for us, to grant
Wishes that our kids want...!
Gone are the days when we could
Spend days on end
With our 'book friend' in hand
Dreaming of anything on the land...!
Now are the days, we find
Picking a book up, hard...
Then, was it hard, to keep it down,
And now, hard it's, not to keep in down...!
For, struggling we are, in Town,
To lend our hands to kids, till grown...!
Note: The former colleague for whom this poem was written is an ardernt lover of books.
•: These lines were written well before my marriage. Hence the reference to 'kids' is cited as 'Not Applicable' (abbreviated as 'NA').