Sitting, meditating, and thinking calmly,
I began to paint a beautiful scenery
a sea born
from my gentle hands,
mountains rising from my dreams,
a river flowing from my innocent thoughts.
Colors spoke to me softly,
and I followed them without fear,
lost in joy, lost in wonder,
imagining a lovely world within my eyes.
The wall became my canvas,
my bedroom turned into a kingdom of art.
Time had no meaning then
only happiness and playful silence.
Each stroke carried laughter,
each colour held a story
only a child’s heart could understand.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps,
gentle, unexpected, real.
They echoed behind me,
breaking the spell of my imagination.
I turned slowly, my heart unsure,
and there stood my Babaji,
watching me with quiet seriousness,
yet his eyes were filled with love.
He was unspoken
but his gaze said everything
pride, surprise, tenderness,
all shining in his silent smile.
In that moment, fear faded away,
and warmth wrapped around my little heart.
That was my first painting
not framed, not perfect,
painted freely on the bedroom wall.
I was only five years old,
but that moment became timeless.
The wall may have faded,
the colours may have disappeared,
yet the memory still shines bright,
living forever within me.
I’m Manasa Reddy Chichili, a poet and short story writer from Hyderabad, Telangana. My haiku and tanka have been published in several journals such as Under the Basho, Mainichi Haiku, Awen, Atlantean Publishing among others. My longer poems have also been published on PoetryPotion, The Wise Owl and Neccheli. My haiku was nominated for the Touchstone Award (2025), and I have also dabbled in writing haikus directly in Japanese (in haikutown.jp).