We believe we have advanced
Towards a future more auspicious
One which is simply devoid of bygones.
How could we possibly forget?
The grainy Polaroid films,
The nostalgic Kodak disposables.
People sneaked into those dark film rooms
To find solace and a figment of escapism
While developing photographs of loved ones.
For us to admire now.
Did you replace your vintage cameras?
With lookalike filters on your phone?
The old vinyl player must be somewhere
Down in the storeroom sitting all alone-
Weeping tears of the past galore
Amongst the old cartons collecting dust and cobwebs.
Oh, the days when we met strangers
At the local record-
Just around the corner of the seventh street
And made promises of innocence and mirth.
Long gone are Cd’s
Now replaced by the only music you dance to
On your iPod playlists.
Forget YouTube and Google
Do you at all consider or remember,
That dear old teal radio?
Wonderous little box
Around which you gathered and talked
About life and loss,
And occasionally complained
Of the malfunctioning noise.
Yes, we built rockets
And decided we could live on Mars
But we forgot those days
When all joy ever truly meant was,
Holding your lover close to your beating heart,
The feel of her hand on your chest
Dancing to Louis Armstrong.
To me modern life is rubbish
And I have regrets, undoubtedly.
~Anurima Biswas
India