The kind of responsibilities I want

Of protecting the edge of the pencil in that box
Of getting the crayon stains off the white socks.

Of shining the polish of the shoes so bright,
Of running and catching that yellow kite,

Of wearing the fancy dress on my big day,
Of eating all the desserts from the buffet.

Of having that first dialogue in broken english,

Of tugging the rope beyond the finish.

Of playing till dark when the bugs start to bite,

Of running so hard that the stomach becomes tight.

Of playing with toy cars till the tires go screech,

Of colouring the Doll's hair an uncanny peach.

Of buttered paranthas and jalebis so sweet,
Of Nani's cake and dadi's home made treats.

Of learning to write in the cursive font,

Of reciting the hindi poem so daunt.

Of having the longest hair in the class,

Of pillow fights and rolling on the grass.

Of ballet class and swimming sessions,

Of the most colourful bandaid on all the abrasions. 

Of the shoes that light when I walk,

Of secret diaries with the tiny lock.

Of the biggest star on the christmas tree,

Of playing and laughing because I am carefree.

Those are the kind of responsibilities I want.

Those are the kind of things to flaunt.