Castle - On The Sands Of Time

A little girl once
Was scurrying back and forth
Making many rounds
From the waves to the beach
Trying to fill the ocean
In her tiny tin bucket
To pour in the moat
That circled the periphery
Around the mound of sand-domes
She’d architecturally piled
Her majestic castle!
Who resides there?
Teasingly, I asked
Innocent was her reply -
"My Memories"

I’ve saved the sweetness of
Bright orange Alphonsos and
Juicy, luscious Litchis
Chilled Maaza and Frooti
And vanilla dripping softy
Crystal clear memories
Of every single summer-holiday
Climbing the mountains like a goat
Carving castle out of the sand
And then studding it with sea-shells
My first ever swim-suit
Deep cobalt blue with bright yellow daisies
Fifty odd summers and a thousand memories
I’ve safely stashed inside.

Pitter-patter of the raindrops
A teeny-weeny bit of rainbow
Dozens of colourful paper-boats
Few crumpled kites from my childhood
Wading through the puddles
The splash, the splutter
Mud spots on my arms, face
And white school shirt
All of it
I’ve neatly stowed in there.

Ohh, there are the wishes
And secrets that only Santa knows
The fragrance of autumn
Rustle of sun-kissed leaves
Taste of the first snow
Melting marshmallows
Hot-chocolate nights
Sipping rich date milk
Snuggled under thick quilts
Cracking-open-the-peanut shells
Packed inside mom-knitted sweaters
Gathered around crackling bonfires
Roasting potatoes, playing dumb-charades
The balmy-wintry-warmth
I've saved a wee bit of that as well.

On that note
The little girl darted
Clutching her tiny tin bucket
To once again catch the waves
Carefully, she spilled it all
Filled the meandering moat
Under the noon Sun
Foamy saline glistened and smiled
Finally, the memory-keeper stood
Securely fortified.

January 11, 2022