I had a
childhood friend named wonder
We marvelled at things for hours together
We gazed at the star filled sky all night and
watched the leaves flutter and butterflies fly in broad daylight
We named the clouds as they took shape and
danced in the rain till the paper boats drained
The rainbows sprinkled the colours of life as
we watched the puddles form from rain’s delight
Then the day came for me to be more civil
I was asked to leave wonder and step inside
I listened obediently and responsibly stepped
inside
I stepped inside a box and tried to fit in
somehow
I learnt what they taught and I followed the
books they brought
Opinions and judgement became my new found
friends
Facts and figures became the dearest of the lot
And I completely lost myself in the noise of
these loud proud friends
Life became a drag and joy lost its way to me
and I became the unknown face in my own mirror
Then one fine day a search began
A search began to find me back
I searched within to find my way home and took
paths which I had never treaded before
I walked and walked across countries, across
cultures, across experiences
And reached the depths of grief and the lows of
sorrow
Drowned and swayed, found and lost, I slowly
drifted away from the noise of the crowd
The voices of opinions and judgements faded
away and now I do not hear them a lot
The silence became my home for a while, where I
slept and rested from the tiredness of wandering all about
From the silence of my home came a knock on the door one day
I opened the door and there I saw my friend
wonder stretching its arm and asking me to play and ponder once again
From my silent home I listened now loud and
clear to my friend whisperings and signing in my ears
Together we took the paths which we never
treaded before
Reached the depths of awe and highs of new
unknowns
Joy is back and so is fun in voice and eyes shine with the new potential of life
And heart beats its choice as I cherish both
within and outside spaces with wonder
Wonder stays with me now in my silent new home
And once in a while we step outside to write a
poem, sing a song or dance together, or just lay still and marvel at nature.
