Doodling

My first teacher taught and encouraged me to doodle,

Back then a pencil and paper was enough.

I try doodling now and am derided

Yet, it is an art I enjoy.

If only am young,

I could doodle the whole day;

only Mum would complain of paper wastage.

When not doodling on paper,

I would be doing it on the ground

Where the soil is loose,

soil my clothes, get the beatings

but I never stopped doodling.

Old as I now am,

With all papers and “penis”,

am bereft of my childhood freedom.

You all don’t understand,

I love doodling.

The pen and paper are mine,

Yet you won’t let me doodle?

I want my freedom,

Coz just like doodling is not drawing

I’m not claiming to be a poet

But since you chastise my use of lines,

I’ll use words,

to revive my childhood dream.

                                                                Steve Karathi.