When I Was A Child Poem by Nikhil Parekh

When I was a child I thought of devouring immaculate chunks of white butter,
Today I contemplated the price before purchasing monetary gifts for pleasure.

When I was a child I clambered up tall trees; to pluck nutritious fruit,
Today I pondered on the various ramifications; which could possibly occur when the farmer caught me red handed.

When I was a child I played vociferously in mud; making inarticulate cakes of cow dung plaster,
Today I refrained from going near wet land; on the flimsy grounds of having my trousers coated with obnoxious dirt.

When I was a child I got up early in the morning; relishing cool air while walking towards school,
Today I woke up with startled jerks; with darkness fully camouflaged in the sun; to rush in a jiffy towards office.

When I was a child I played for incessant hours in the evening with my cluster of friends, Today I retired in front of the television screen; with a glass of cold beverage; at the onset of twilight.

When I was a child I demonstrated a plethora of emotions when profoundly agitated, Today I had risen to holistic degrees of self control; scrutinizing my mistakes before I cried.

When I was a child I took the supreme liberty of hiding amongst a fleet of guests arriving at our dwelling,
Today I audaciously shook hands with the same; conversed for indefatigable hours with them on matters of common parlance.

When I was a child I voraciously read a battalion of thrilling mysteries,
Today I completely engulfed myself in deciphering; intricate quotes of the stock market.

When I was a child I listened to my elders with rapt attention and intense enthusiasm,
Today I chalked policies of my own; implementing them with loads of fortified conviction.

When I was a child; beads of sweat dribbled down my nape after witnessing a ghastly scene from the movie,
Today I didn't budge an inch from my seat; after sighting the same; as I knew it was fictitious.

When I was a child I had no hesitation asking for money from my ancestors,
Today I felt thoroughly abashed; asking them to gratify my distinctly penurious state.

When I was a child I chortled into pools of uninhibited laughter; at someone awkwardly dressed,
Today I emitted out sly smiles; in order that the individual didn't feel humiliating and bad.

When I was a child I hardly had time to think about the vagaries of mystical world, Today I spent hours pondering on a jugglery of consequences that would unleash; if I wasn't careful.

When I was a child I thought the most onerous thing existing was to study,
Today I felt that it was the process of earning; that was the most cumbersome of them all.

When I was a child; those were the times I was oblivious to reality; solely living in a world of tailor made fantasy,
While today I had crossed the realms of maturity; acclimatized to the harsh reality; and desperately wished I was that unscrupulous child once again.