Nugget store

When all the money I needed was the 50 paisa coin
for the old man to fill air in my bicycle tyre
on the way back from school,
where friends were made
who would never be lost.

When maximal guilt was after I returned happily
having played a quick game at a new place, with new found friends.
But to some very worried faces and an angry one.
Four hours had stretched into eternity
along with several search expeditions.

When I couldn't sleep without my mother next to me
telling me things that I would remember forever.
Like the time I lost a gold earring
and she defined what precious was.
It wasn't it, but was me, she said.

When staring at the stars,
like they held the answers,
dreams were dreamt of a future full of questions
but answers too.
And those in joyful abundance.

When stories were spun
of places and people that had been seen
and those just imagined.
And worked with friends,
these thoughts only imagined
could then come to live.