The white sand scattered
highs and lows in between
an uneven land, camouflaged dunes
few wet spots from water
spilled by people having
a day out or a picnic by the river.
 
Badminton, frisbee, handball
a game of catch, musical chair
and some games I couldn’t name
children played along on their own
making merry among themselves,
aloof from the adults - tipsy
with wine and whisky.
 
Few kids flew kites
      -    something I have not seen
           for a long, long time
and I remembered my childhood
when I’d make kites out of newspapers
or coloured papers
and run with the kite trailing behind;
some kites never flew though.
  
I sat there and watched the people
happy faces, having a good time
it felt lively, everything was perfectly fine
the pandemic scare seemed dead
and it felt like 2019 -
when times were normal,
things were certain and freedom umpteen.


© Barnadhya Rwitam