Sitting in a restaurant Over a cup of coffee And silently having our dinner With hardly anything exciting Either to brag or blather My eyes got hooked On the occupants of the table, next
Two kids, seated on small chairs A boy and a girl, obviously a pair of twins Adorably cute, their father, so young Who having placed the order Were in wait for their turn
Carrying a tray, as the waiter arrived With something of the plainest kind, Small cartons of French fries, Bottles of sauce and plain ice cream The little faces gleamed in excitement Their beaded eyes riveted, And their heads bobbed in happy approval
As their Dad opened the carton And placed before them French fries sprinkled with some sauce The children, sprang to their feet With an upsurge of delight, Jumping up and down, Clapping their hands and shouting!
At a small distance, sat we ‘Solemnly’ consuming our meal With nothing to titillate our palette Or excite our toned nerves
I thought; How, in course of time, Everything becomes a routine ritual And what stark difference Between our subdued composure And the overwhelming excitement of kids! They haven’t learned yet That such open expression of emotions, Is not in keeping with accepted norms
To what peaks of joy, they get catapulted With mere trifles and silly baubles While we remain ever at the bottom Unable to be lifted up
Is this what we call aging?
Or is it
The death of spring The summer’s dirge Autumn’s mellowing Or the chill wave of winter’s blast??
I don't know if it is a poem or a simple narration! But this can be read like a story. Life presents so many such interesting scenes if we are watchful ! Observing children's artless behavior is always a pleasure!