An attempt to travel down the memory lane
Is almost like re-playing the DVD inside the brain
Although the entire track is not very clear,
Some parts stand out because they are so very dear.
Each one of us has such incidents to share
Which we seem to always remember crystal clear
One such incident I wish to narrate
And try my best, my feelings, to propagate.
Although this happened when I was about nine,
It is still etched in my memory so very fine.
It was perhaps my life's major turning point
Or may be, in between two lives, an inevitable joint!
It was just about the middle of the night
And I was holding my father's hand tight.
We were on the railway platform of an AP town
Instead of a smile on my face, there was a frown.
I was being packed off to the then Madras
Dearth of good local schooling seemed to be the cause.
This decision's implication on my life I did not then realize
Only time would tell if the decision was foolish or wise.
I was at times willing, at times reluctant
I had never ever lived away from even one parent.
I had some fancied imagination about Madras
Based on what others told me it was.
It was slightly cloudy, there was also a bit of rain
I was supposed to travel with my uncle who was already in the train.
As the time approached, my anxiety began to rise
It seemed too late even for an eleventh hour surprise.
There was an announcement that the train was late
This extra time with my father was perhaps a gift from fate.
After an hour, with a steam engine, the train did arrive.
And my father bid me goodbye, advising me to strive.
Ever since then, we have travelled in two different routes,
Only occasionally meeting to share our labour's fruits
Ever since then, I was almost bereft of parents' love
Until this day, I have just lived, I don't know how.
A letter now and then when I found some time to pen
A visit now and then, during my school's vacation
Was all the association that we ever had
God seemed to never care if I felt good or bad.
I have always tried to follow my father's advice
And strived to keep myself away from vice.
The few discussions that I had with my father
Gave me life's most precious philosophies together.
If this poem were to somehow reach my father in heaven,
That would be the most valuable boon to me ever given
He would then be very happy at the decision he took
However wrong, for others, it might externally look.
Many other incidents have, of course, happened in my life,
Including the one when I first met my future wife.
But even though I look back at it with some regret,
It is that train journey which I can never forget.
