When I was a little child
And the age of innocence ruled
Of my declarative memory
I recall going to school!
So neat and clean, my uniform
Was pressed; I carried a thermos
Back then in Montessori,
I used to wait for the bus!
When the bus would arrive at doorsteps,
Even then as a child, I took
Too long to comb my hair,
I was conscious about my looks!
From the stories of my childhood,
Before heading towards the bus,
With a sandwich in my right hand
I superseded luck!
At the crack of dawn each morning,
So that I can have a good day
My mother would also wake up,
For me she’d always pray!
With a white thread and a needle
Of which she made a necklace,
By collecting jasmines, each day…
That was, for me, her gift!
On the bus, I would gift the necklace
To the teacher who would smell
But the secrets of my heart,
I was never able to tell!
And today after all these years,
I’m a big boy, I can drive
On the red light signal, I stop
My memories still revive!
When I see some little boy
Like a Deja vu, it seems
He’s selling for me his childhood
In a necklace of jasmines!
I then purchase the necklace
I challenge the sense of smell
But the secrets of his heart,
I’m never able to tell!
In a vaguely familiar childhood,
I see my own reflection
The poor boy, if anything
Reminds me, God is one!
With Pakistan’s National Flower
These children of tomorrow
Represent by the roadside begging
In a smile, a glimpse of sorrow!
That’s called the pain in beauty
But I can’t explain it in words
From the strings of golden memories
They’re chirping of the birds!
For me, it’s a voice of conscience
Where eagles win, who dare
To ask me, where is God?
And I tell them, everywhere!
