THE CHILD

I remember a child from not long ago -

He used to look at the world in awe,

Had a head full of dreams that scaled the skies,

And an imagination that glowed like fireflies.

Everyone adored his wonderful mind;

A mind that would see beauty in everything he’d find.

He gushed on about every little dream he’d weaved,

Knowing very little that they will soon be thieved.

It was an invisible parasite that committed the crime;

The child couldn’t see or feel it - its name was time.

He asked his adorers to help save his dreams from the theft;

They said all he could do was run, and he might still save what was left.

So, he started running as fast as he possibly could,

Trying to save the dreams that adorned his childhood.

He was so focused on running to escape the parasite’s claw

That he could no longer notice the world nor look at it in awe.

One day he stopped running, for he had nowhere left to go-

Every path he took his dreams on led him to a tightly shut door.

So, he bottled up his mind and all the magic it had drawn,

Took what was left of his dreams, and forever, he was gone.

The parasite had gotten rid of the child at the world’s cost,

As it was the world that paid the price for the magic it had lost.

I wish to find this wonderful little child that I had to outgrow,

To see the world through his wonderful eyes at least once more.

So, I put on my shoes and got on my bike today,

To go find that little child who was chased away.

I don’t know if I’ll find him or if this effort will end in vain,

But if I do, I know I’m never letting go of him ever again.

Written by Nabeel Renaaz (Bonheur Media)