The Changed World

(A poem byParitosh Chakma)

When I was a child
And visited my grandparents’ house
Twenty miles away
Down the river - winding and mild:
I found the pebbles
On the river beds
so beautiful,
The songs of the birds
so soothing,
And, the foams that danced on the tiny waves
so mystic.

My mind travelled in wonderlands
On the wings of the wind,
So thrilling was the splash of the oar
That my heart did soar -

For, every splash it made
Took me nearer to grandparents’ house.

Now, twenty years later,
I still love to visit my grandparents’ house
I still love the birds, the pebbles and the river;
Only no longer I hear birds sing carefree,
Nor do the foams dance on the waves
For me
The pebbles no longer attract me
During my journey to grandparents’ house
Twenty miles away
Down the river.

I know why birds can’t sing carefree songs, or
Waves can’t dance or pebbles won’t silently lie.
They see and feel the changed world too!
The river silently flows -
But there’s sadness and anger in her heart
At the sufferings of the people who live on her lap.