The Road That Time Forgot
written by: Shalini Samuel
@sshalini2014
Like sand, time slips between my hands.
The road with coconut trees in perfect line
Is no longer there. I see new buildings.
But the memories of me sleeping as I passed through,
The wind, my dad stopping the vehicle so I could nap—
All are evergreen, though the trees are gone.
The newborns will never feel that chilling air again.
I miss it, like so many worldly experiences lost in time.
Earth keeps changing, I know. But my memories are stubborn.
They refuse to fade and long to bring it all back,
To breathe in that exact moment once more.
When I walked from school to have lunch at my aunt’s house,
The snake-like road would take me through coconut farms.
The roads had fewer vehicles, and the people always smiled.
Today, I see the streets filled with new homes and strangers.
Yes, our population has exploded, I know. Yet that slow, peaceful life,
Where we knew every neighbor in the village—that was priceless!
Can a magic wand bring that life back again?
We didn’t have smartphones then,
But we played together, talking about random topics,
Unbothered by the world’s constant morphing.
Mud huts held pots of leftover rice soaked in water.
Our houses had sacks of paddy,
And tamarind, mangoes, and coconuts were plentiful.
Rarely did we buy from stores or restaurants.
Health was in the air we breathed beneath the neem trees
That adorned our homes like ancient guardians.
Can I have that life again? I know it’s impossible.
But I can still feel my granny,
Who had watched the world change
As wisdom carved her weathered skin,
She must have thought that evolution, while inevitable,
It was stealing away life’s most wonderful experiences.
- The Road That Time Forgot - February 7, 2025
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