As a kid, I loved the canals
I loved watching water flowing
Through the small canals alongside
The green paddy fields in my village
I dug up small canals around my home
Connected all of them to create a system
I dug trenches to fill in the rainwater from canals
I dug notches to divert the water to coconut tree plots
When it rains, I used to glance through the windows
To see the water gushing through my rain canals
Sometimes I put paper boats from one end
Then I wait to see it sailing down the slope
Slowly towards those plots or trenches
Those canals were scaled rivers for me
That brims into life only when it rains
It was a crazy hobby but I loved it
Last night I dug a small rain canal
Alongside the road near my home
To flush away the flooded rainwater
At night under the bright streetlight
I found myself excited just as that kid
When I saw the rainwater racing away
When it rains, I turn pages of memory
I still have so many rain canals to dig
To show my kids how to enjoy rain
