Childhood pleasures

 
Can I play in the hot sun without my hat, Mom?
Tear some paper, scribble on the wall just for fun?
Dance in the rain, slide down stair rails
Make paper boats from the glossy magazine page?

Raindrops and butterflies, for me to play
Candy and pillow fights to start my day
Hidden nooks and treetop-castles entice me so
Lying on the green grass watching stars glow.

Is it not fun to run and fall over fences?
Why open dull gates and walk instead?
Jumping into puddles, throwing stones into streams
Did you not do this at least in your dreams?

Guavas taste better straight from the tree.
Picking flowers, a kid’s right, Nature’s decree.
Putting sand in my pockets, running barefoot over pebbles
Climbing brown trees, blowing soap bubbles.

Only one life just as you said
Why spend it Mom, tucked up in bed?
Let me swim freely in these magical seas
I wouldn’t like to waste childhood’s treats.

I love to paint, let me do it now
When I grow up, I may not know how
Let me read Mom, while I eat
Childhood won’t wait forever for me.

Free me from your fears; I am your little one
Enjoy me at my pace; pray youth be slow to come.
None to swing in your arms, when your baby is grown
Why adorn the nest, once the birds have flown?

No one ever destroyed this earth, Mom
After having a childhood filled with fun.

©Reena prasad