Yes, in sweet childhood of oblivion
I would gasp at what wonders lay ahead-
Lust lay for the freedom, lust for a life gay,
Lust for a day of one’s own, lust to have one’s own say.
Trouser clad and shining shoes, how I had foreseen
The day of yonder which would hold surprises new-
No more the work at home, no more being tamed,
No more being led in a queue.
Yes, the awe remains for things vague-
Don’t we all gasp at what is beyond our reach?
Doesn’t the shore away seem richer far?
Didn’t we want to fly knowing birds don't have limbs?
Why else would I wait thus for something unknown,
With all pleasures of childhood passing by?
Look, where have I come-
Isn’t life barren now?
Isn’t life burdensome now?
Isn’t the place smaller now?
Isn’t the sky gloomier now?
I am lamenting the loss of an age
Which I let slip from my eager hands,
I am rubbing my hands how!
Well, wasn’t she right in her sighs-?
"And it shall be too late when you open your eyes!"
-19\2\99,Calcutta-63

COMMENTS :

The quotation of the last line has been taken from Sushmita Sen’s poem ‘Moments’:

"The moment shall go, the feelings shall die,
And it shall be too late when you open your eyes."