Those Were The Days … Poem by Kamalakar Arakala

Those were the days…

Barefoot
Along rail track
Ten kilometres one way
Day in and day out
Going to school was fun!

Thatched roof huts
Wooden benches
With legs dug deep
Back rests not heard of.

All shorties in front
Rear are the taller
Who's hush hush chatter
Making tough to hear!

Back home by dusk
Reading around a lantern
While dozing on grass mat
Luxury, if covered with a thin sheet!

Grandma's bedtime story is same
Yet enjoyed as if never heard

Slip into sleep
Staring into sky
Sometimes moon-lit
Often star-lit

Yet our faces are ever lit
Visible brightly in the dark!

Those were the days …