4th street has my book and
Pencil-- I never gotta
Go to school.
The villa near the water
Tank has trophies I
Never gotta win.
The temple near the Lake
Has shoes and a uniform
I never gotta wear.
The High school by
The Panchayat office has
Memories of my crippled leg.
Damaged when one of
The walls fell off.
The childhood that's
Rubbed away by the bricks
I carried from the kiln-
When I walk these streets,
A streak of nostalgia
Gets to me-- like I almost
Met my school crush.
But alas! She too had to
Carry bricks for the
New Mall that came up
In the city nearby.
We can almost hear the
Sound of the movies.
And the whiff of popcorn
Popping inside.
Sometimes we sneak in
To get a peek at the other side,
But it seems they always
Shoo away our kind.