The garish red-pink paint
covering familiar grey stucco quaint
gone the banyan; our silent lunch mate
that stood near the gate
unknown faces in the library ( my shrine)
my school, no longer seemed mine
but when the bell rang
my poor smote heart sang!
Written for dVerse. Today’s host, Kim, has asked us to write a quadrille including the word bell in it.
paeansunpluggedblog 
The rhyming couplets are so fitting for your quadrille, Punam, and the way you describe the ‘garish red-pink paint / covering familiar grey stucco quaint’. I wonder where the banyan went, such a shame when familiar things change. I remember revisiting my old school and the shock at the changes to the library, my sanctuary.
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Thanks so much, Kim. I revisited my school a few years back and like you, was shocked by the changes. Sadly, the old banyan gave way to a new building and the gate was shifted.
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I’m so sorry about the banyan. I love trees and am sad when they are chopped down.
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So am I. It is very sad when trees make way for concrete.
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How much the school might sing, the bell always brings back the memory of school… so great to get inside and be safe from the bullies
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I agree, the bell always brings back school memories.
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lovely nostalgia you rang out here
“gone the banyan; our silent lunch mate
that stood near the gate”
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Thanks, Laura. I hear the word bell and think of school.
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I like your coupletting here, and the way you ground this in such physical detail.
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I am so glad you liked the coupletting and the details, Sarah. Much appreciated.
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So neat that your alma mater still stands. And the cycle continues…
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It is 56 years old and still going strong. It was wonderful studying there.
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I loved that last bell of the day… as if the whole school were rejoicing!
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I think everyone loves that last bell…ringing in freedom for the day!
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awesome poetry as we have come to expect from you sis … I hadn’t realised that you went to school in Jaipur! So sad about the tree 😦
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Thanks, sis! Jaipur maybe the pink city but there are red buildings in other places too! I studied in a small upcoming city.
The tree had to make way for a new building.
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how sad, happens all too often … I love Jaipur!
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makes me wish i could revisit my old school! it is now a housing estate got knocked down in 1990. really enjoyed your poem.
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Thanks, Rog. Thankfully my school is still standing strong.
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Some things never change!
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No, they don’t, Dora.
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This reminiscence is so vivid! We can’t help but see the changes and be a little sad… but the bell is the same so there is some continuity!
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Yes, Val! Schools and bells will be together forever. I visited my school (which is in another state) about 5 yrs back.
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Ah, lovely re-collection bell.
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Thanks a lot, Ron.
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Many hearts rang with that bell. Well done!
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Indeed, Susan! Thank you!
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Those sounds recover what was lost. (K)
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Yes, they do, Kerfe.
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I like this, but what is a quadrille?
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Thanks, Feets. A quadrille is a poem of exactly 44 words. There are no other rules. It is a homegrown form of dVerse Pub.
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Ahhh. I see.
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How so nostalgic Punam, Ma’am! Hank had the same feelings when passing by the old school building site even though it has somehow now transformed to modern structures!
Hank
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Hi Hank! So glad to know this resonated.
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Loved the closing line.
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Thank you!
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Ah! You’ve taken me back so many decades.
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We hated that bell, now we miss it.
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Exactly.
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Lovely rhyming, Punam. So sad that the banyan tree is gone, but the nostalgia comes through. Libraries and reading periods were always my safe spaces, too.
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Thanks, Merril. The tree gave way to a new building. So good to know library was your refuge too. 😊
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You’re welcome, Punam. I still love libraries!
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Remembering our olden days of school. Such a lovely poem, Punam.
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What wonderful days those were, isn’t it, Kamal! Thank you so much.
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Yes Punam those were such happy days. You are always welcome Punam 🙏🏼
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This sure brings back the memories. I can’t even visit my old school as the three story brick façade was demolished for the modern squat structures.
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In the name of modernization, they wreck beautiful structures.
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We always get our priorities wrong. Did nobody remember why the tree was planted in the first place?
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The tree was there when the land was alloted for the school. Later as the school expanded, the tree had to be cut to make place for a new building.
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What a shame they couldn’t have built round it.
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Yes.
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A charming poem well done. 🙂
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Thank you, Bill. 🙂
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Memories well expressed!
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Thanks, Veera.
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Time and people make changes. Our minds may or may not accept those changes. Or just partly.
People change over time, our minds might reject those even if it’s been company with the newer version.
Glad I read yours, thank you.
..
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You are right, Jim, nothing remains constant. Thank you for reading.
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So interesting to see your old school, Punam – thanks for sharing this memory!
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Thanks, Ingrid and my pleasure.
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Oh wow, what a lovely end to the poem.
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Thanks a lot, Sonia.
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