Let Us Return

By Ritik Gautam

Where we fumbled before we spoke,

Where steps stumbled more than walked,

And in each falter,

Father’s hand reached out for us.

Let us return

Where homes were built upon the moon,

Where worry was only forlorn,

Where strangers felt like our own,

And even a mile’s distance

Made us long for home.

Let us return

Where there was no great-small,

No caste- creed , no walls between;

Before the spider of difference

Wove its web,

We were all together — knit.

Let us return

Where on a brother’s shoulders we rose,

Feeling taller than the highest fort.

And now, no longer stumbling —

No moon, no home,

Now we stand steady and stable on our own.

By Ritik Gautam