Shadows On The Playground Poem by ashok jadhav

I walked again where children played,
Beneath the oak, beside the stream;
The laughter once so bright and clear
Now feels a shadow in my dream.
The swings still sway in gentle wind,
The grass grows tall where feet once ran;
Yet somewhere in the fleeting years,
The world has touched the child I am.
The games we played were simple then,
No worry darkened morning skies;
We trusted all, we loved all things,
And saw the truth with open eyes.
But time crept in with careful hands,
And sorrow whispered, doubt drew near;
The innocence that shaped our hearts
Began to fade, replaced by fear.
Yet in the hush of memory,
That child still waits, both small and wise;
A light that lingers in the soul,
A spark that never truly dies.
So though the world may claim our youth,
And stain the heart with harshest hue;
The memory of a simpler dawn
Will guide us back to what is true.