Till

Till I could stand on my own little feet
Till words like “mamma” ”papa”, I learnt to speak

Till I knew where money from the plant was spent
Till I understood where, after the Christmas, Santa went

Till I believed that all the dead people were stars
Till I loved playing with teddies and toy cars

Till I included God in all my guest lists
Till I realized that Tom and Jerry don’t really exist

Till I stopped hating the colour of my school dress
Till I found out how I could beat you in those games of chess

Till I was taught that to win some we may lose few
Till I developed my own point of view

You were there with me at every crossroad of time
Holding my little hand
Making way for each step of mine

And now, as I stand on the threshold of life
Ready to take steps on my own
People around want me
To accept your non-existence

But
I refuse to abet

Because I can feel your presence
In my memories, in my life
In everything I do

I love to believe that you are there with me
And will be
Till, my last breath.

Devanshi
September 09, 2006