A balmy afternoon
the 5th standards recited
a number of poems, they'd learnt by heart
Wordsworth, Ronald Dahl and Tagore'
in the auditorium.
I sat along with another gentleman,
a pencil and eraser in hand
judging their competency with marks
for their memory, diction, expression ,etc.
And finally, announced the lucky winners!
Walking back, all by myself
in the vast, open ground
I saw a girl in a different uniform
in a different set up, of a different day'.
And remembered '
winning and losing.
As I looked back again
at the children at play
I wondered if we adults
underestimate their memory.
