The Expensive Toy

I see a creature, hazy but familiar,

Scampering through forgotten streets

In the scorching heat.

After the rain, I watch him

Sauntering into the wet alleys

As a pleasurable treat.

Once, I find him rambling on the roof,

Looking up and down to catch the thread

Of the abandoned kite.

If he succeeds, I hear him

Whooping from the top.

His voice hoarse, and eyes bright.

Then I catch him playing some games

By skipping the homework.

He doesn't at all care if the teacher will know.

I reach his school. He is making excuses,

Funny, foolish but creative.

I am laughing at hin looking from the window.

Sometimes, he would cry after he fails to get

An expensive toy brought. He seems to

Wear a somber look, his eyes lose their shine.

It is the time when he sits alone under 

The starry sky, waiting for a star to break

To make a wish of a lifetime.

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He has some friends, I could observe.

He plays with them day in, day out

Without getting tired.

Hide and seek, I remember the game.

They make secret plans and laugh

Even if their plan is backfired.

Then I see a serious him

Preparing for exams under the

System of carrot and stick.

Beside other tricks, he is promised

The expensive toy, a new bicycle,

And the batting kit.

During the vacation,

I follow him to his maternal house.

He feels elated, as he joins his cousins.

The gang of cousin is zestful and naughty.

They play the dangerous game all day

Ignoring all the repercussions.

Suddenly, a twinge of pain strikes me,

And I feel nostalgic, envying the great creature,

Whom I have now understood.

I could feel tears trickling down my cheeks.

Pondering over the life beyond the expensive toy,

I hark back to a past when I lost my childhood.