The Rainbow
When I was a kid, I prayed for a rainbow,
Until the next day it rained, and I saw one in all its glory,
I want to do that again — look up at the sky,
and feel the bliss of ignorance of a child.
Life was easier when I didn’t know many things
And alas I miss those days for it was such fun;
Because now if I wanna watch anything,
I have to wait till the pre-roll ads end on YouTube.
Back then was a time when black and white were colours,
and not two races;
A time when Titanic, the movie was about untainted love,
and not classism
A time when villains were in comics, not in Iraq or Syria
with names like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi;
Or some guy with a gun at a shopping mart in the US,
Or serving as heads of many a different governments
It was when warmth was under a blanket
and not over the globe;
When plastic was colourful,
and not PVC and they-kill-you-easy
A glorious time when the internet was fascinating,
and not click-baiting or deep-faking;
A time when our heroes could stay heroes,
because they didn’t tweet
It was when ‘mom’ was my favourite word,
and not a responsibility or a job to run errands;
A time when being a girl didn’t feel different or scary…
And when I didn’t know the meaning of rape or victim shaming…
A time when we didn’t have to look for loyalty in dogs,
Also, when I didn’t know trust could make people contented..
Neither did I know adults were grown-ups who would pay to be able to get a full night’s sleep..
Now everything seems like it was all a fluke;
Like I won’t see the rainbow if I pray anymore, right?
Because there’s no rainbow without reflection, refraction, and dispersion of light…
It was more fun when I didn’t know that…
You know, I want to chance upon a rainbow now;
just to remember a childhood I took for granted.
