Life's Simple Pleasures Poem by Sumali Nagarajan

Will our children ever know
The simple pleasures of life
When we go slow
When we stop to look at things
When we take a pause
From the busy lives we are having.

On a trip to the beach
Have they ever felt
The wet sand beneath their feet
Did they ever have the time
To follow a bird's swift flight
And then watch it gently glide.

Have they ever listened to birds chirping
And wondered what they are saying
Gazing at the clear blue sky
Noticed the silhouette of the branches high.

Have they ever watched
An ant carrying a bit of food
For her size, that itself is huge
Were they ever surrounded by
Chickens pecking at tiny grains
Wondering what goes on in their 'simple' brains.

Do they remember sitting in the park
And plucking blades of grass
Crunching dried leaves underfoot
Just so you can hear the sound of it.

When is the last time
They got wet in the rain outdoor
Smelled the fragrance of mud
In the season's first downpour
And when it stopped raining
Set a paper boat, a-sailing.

Sitting on a small rock
Was this ever beheld
A stream of water rushing forth
Pebbles underneath, staying still.

Have they ever spotted
A flag flailing in the wind
And compared it to the rhythmic flapping
Of a pigeon's wings
Ever tried catching a butterfly
It may be quick
But its worth a try.

Did they try to catch a feather
Floating in the air
Or run their fingers
Through a loved one's hair
Ever pressed mother's aching feet
Till she was sound asleep.

Life's simple pleasures
Seem to be lost forever
In laptops, Ipad and PS3
Downloading apps and playing Wii.

Is it their fault
That we live in a concrete jungle
The need to compete
Having lead to the loss of these treasures.

In our twilight years
We can revisit these memories
Maybe even have time to relive them at leisure
But what about those who will never know
Who never had the time to go slow.

So you have to choose between
Life's rapid pace and simple pleasures
I am afraid, they don't go hand in hand
If you choose one
You have to let go of the other.