Fondest Childhood Memories

I was down the ladder,
I was negligent in working harder,
I couldn’t read and spell well,
It was a menacing hell.

I ranked fourth from the bottom in the end-of-session examination,
This was a result of my weak educational foundation,
My parents were extremely disappointed in me,
It was a sail across a turbulent sea.

It was a summer away from the sun,
A holiday with restricted fun,
My older brother revealed to my mother that I had been hiding my reading textbooks,
I brought them out and my heart sank deeper by my parents’ disappointed looks.

My mother patiently taught me how to spell breaking words into their syllables,
She was glad as I made progress,
The new session began on a promising note,
I was no longer aboard a sinking boat.

I emerged among the top three at the end of the first term,
At the end of the second term, I had moved to the second position,
I was no longer in the shadows,
I had come to the blooming meadows.

It was the final term to end the session,
My father as well as my mother promised to get a gift for me if I could come top of the class,
This made me work harder,
Pushing me beyond the border.

Then came the much-awaited colourful day,
Hope was my piercing ray,
I had put in my best,
I had sat well in my nest.

The results were announced and I was victorious,
This made the event for me more glorious,
My father bought me a bicycle,
My mother gifted me a pair of shoes and a wristwatch.

First Place Podium Finish in Poetry Soup Contest.