Just Musings
Friends,
Though we have trodden
Rough paths in our younger days
With sweats we plodded
Each step of the way;
Sometimes we stumbled ,
Sometimes we strutted steadily
Not a care in the world; not a single care
For the pebbles or thorns that came our way !
We were weak then; but
The heavens were kindly
The skies were compassionate
Our wills were young and flexible .
At time when the going got rough
We sang songs to boost our drooping spirits!
At time when life's tides droned its monotony
We longed to see those skies of rainbow
colours !
And , being young , we made it happen;
Yes, happened in our world,
In our imaginations !
Now , we have come a long way from those
Days of blowing soap bubbles
Those days of chasing wild dragonflies
And picking daisies..and cooking fishes we caught
In the sparkling stream behind our house :
Those days of sneaking out
To see the midnight movic
Of staying up late to watch
Some strange stars , waning moon
Or to dream once again, and to relive moments;
The day's happenings so sweet !
But very often now ...
All these dreams and magic subside
And gone from our world
Like a rainbow ; like the glorous sunset,
That brightens for a while and then
Fade from our horizon, from the sky
When the burdens of life are grave
And we need toil for our daily bread.
Oh ! the worldly cares!
Our footsteps we dare not stray!
To pick wild flowers that grow
Profusely by the streams, the side paths!
Can you laugh at a passing fancy perished ?
Can you wrong the unapproachable skies?
No! we cannot ; Perchance
The fairies this way fly; and we again tempted
To reach for those glamour
Those enchantment of life !
So we must, and we will slumber through it all
And not wake and not think and not see
The flickering shadows that dance
In our dreams, in our world !
Yet , there's life in the dying ember
Some sparks are smouldering still !
There's dew drops on the green leaves
Even when the rain has long , long gone !
So slumber on , dreamer , life's but a fitful dream!
Agatha Lai
