A Quiet Transformation

In the quiet of change, we once wove dreams by the riverbank,
where laughter danced on the water’s surface.
Now, that river lies barren,
its banks swallowed by the sands of time,
and last night, in the moonlight,
I saw the green moss burst forth,
a silent witness to our neglect.

The morning songbird,
that once serenaded our windows,
has altered its tune,
now echoing like a machine,
a robotic mimicry of life.
We never noticed when it lost its soul.

Our cherished tea shop,
where we gathered until the stars blinked awake,
now stands silent,
a lifeless coffee machine
where warmth and chatter once thrived.

The brass plate that cradled
my mother’s lovingly prepared meals
has transformed into plastic,
an unnoticed shift,
slipping through our fingers like sand.

The playground of our youth,
once alive with kites and footballs,
now hosts a shopping mall,
its walls echoing with commerce,
the laughter of children replaced
by the clatter of cash registers.

When did we change so profoundly,
that we no longer recognize ourselves
in the mirror’s reflection?
Unbeknownst to us,
our lives have shifted,
the essence of who we were
lost in the tide of progress,
a quiet transformation,
unseen, unbidden.