Free Falling with Wings

Neverland which is a place where lost children live,

Forever as children,

Along with Peter - 

Peter Pan -

Peter, who can fly despite not having wings,

Because in Neverland, wings are not important -

Ask Tinker Bell and she'll tell you,

Even fairies, who have wings, need Pixie Dust

To be able to lift themselves off the choking grip of earth around their feet.

You call it gravity,

Some call it poverty.

I'm not sure about the difference,

Just know that both need need Pixie Dust to get out of

And you get pixie dust in the heart of Neverland.

See, you need flight to reach Neverland

And you get flight once you reach Neverland -

It's a cycle,

Uninterrupted,

Unending,

Closed off to the outsiders.

I still leave my window open 

For Peter to come break the cycle

No, not for me,

I'm too old now for Neverland.

I leave my window open for Saleem

Whom I know Peter will like

Because Saleem is a treasure hunter,

And the lost boys were never ones to say no to some treasure,

Even if that treasure is bottles and eatables in the sea of urban excreta. 

But no, our Saleem can even find gold in garbage so I know he'll pose a great threat to Captain Hook

So I know Peter will just about love this boy.

And then there's Rohini, who can weave magic with her small hands,

Despite those hands being heavy with the backbreaking weight of red bangles -

Tinker Bell will love having her as a friend, I'm sure,

For Rohini can bend the elements to her will

To put the brightest of colours in the fabric of a cloth.

Amar is our demolitions expert, 

And once he gets to Neverland, he'll put up such a show that the fairies will want to adopt him as their own,

Uncaring that his hands are marred with ash

And feet burned with his father's disease.

I can go on and on and on...

About Imli and Rajan and Akash,

Who are fighting a battle older than themselves,

Losing a battle crueler than the cold

They call it their fate,

We can call it our greed.

If you ask me why I write, I'll tell you it's to break away –

From this reality,

From these chains,

Shackles and chainsaws,

Go to a place where Ali and Sarah and Seema and Raju

Can live in a tree house Peter built atop a tree

Untouched by the swamps and flees -

It's too high for kids, Peter admits.

But they needn't climb it,

Merely fly,

And Peter believes they will fly

Because in Neverland, you don't need wings –

Just some pixie dust, and faith and trust.