This poem looks at how we change from being carefree to more cautious over time. It shows the small compromises we make while growing up, exchanging freedom for control and innocence for knowledge.

Still, the poem softly reminds us that our lighter, freer self is still there, waiting to be found.

# That Lighter Life #

We were not always like this—
careful with our words,
measured in our laughter,
afraid of spilling too much of ourselves
into the open.

There was a version of us
that did not hesitate—
that ran headfirst into the rain,
that wore mud like a badge,
that believed joy was something
you could never run out of.

But then we learned.

We learned to pause
before speaking,
to think before feeling,
to carry yesterday
like a warning for tomorrow.

We traded wonder
for understanding,
freedom
for control,
and in that quiet exchange,
something weightless slipped away.

Now we move differently—
as if every step must justify itself,
as if every smile must have a reason.

And yet,
in the stillness of certain moments,
when the world forgets to watch us,
there is a flicker—

a laugh that escapes too quickly,
a memory that refuses to stay buried,
a sudden urge to let go
without explaining why.

It is still there—
that lighter life,
waiting patiently
beneath everything we have become.

Not lost.
Just… covered.

(Vijay Verma)
www.retiredkalam.com

Categories: kavita

Tags: #Childhood, #creativity, #emotion, #happiness, #poem, featured