Featured Illustration: ‘Swing of Love’ by Darshan Sompura
Where does our childhood go
When we force ourselves to grow
Does it sit in the broken swings
Hugging itself tight, yearning
For a warmth that will never come
Does it lie under the covers
Shining a bright light in the middle of the night
Hoping for someone to come & scold them
Does it live within the torn journals
Still clinging to every word
Praying, that it was all not for nothing
Does it play around with the tattered remains
Of the first ever dress she bought
Sitting, forgotten at the bottom of a box
Does it roam around the carnival
Munching on tooth-rotting candies
The surroundings so lively yet so lonely
Does it run around the office building
Pulling on jackets, toppling over pens
Wishing for just a little bit of attention
Does it sit under our desks
Playing hide-and-seek
Waiting all by itself for someone to find it
Does it stay on the window sills
Looking out in wait
For someone to call “come out, let’s play”
Or does it stay curled up within
Our old and withered hearts
Weakly beating the walls hoping to break out
Where does our childhood go
When we force ourselves to grow
