Things That Have Been And Always Will Be
This site features "Things That Have Been And Always Will Be" a rhyming children's book by Vicrim Singh Chima with illustrations by Dwayne Diaz. The site also catalogs Vicrim's collection of poetry. He invites you to read as much, or as little, as you desire.
William went to the beach one day,
To meet an old friend, to see him and say,
"Hello my old friend, how are you today?"
A warm voice replied,
"Very well, as are you, I hope and I pray?"
"Well enough, well enough," said William as he cartwheeled away,
And was taken aloft by the salt wind to play.
He drifted along for most of the day,
Until the sky turned to red and yellow light turned to gray.
Dusk had come, but William had stayed,
To bid his friend fond farewell, while the day slipped away,
But before his friend had succumb to the night,
William posed a small question to gain some insight.
William asked of his friend, “Might I be able to come with you today,
I don’t think that I’ve ever been that way?”
His friend replied, “Run and meet me at end of the bay,
Where the sky meets the sand, and the clouds wander and sway.”
William reached the end of the sparkling bay,
His friend then stopped, and paused, and turned to say,
“We’ve come this far; we may as well go the rest of the way.”
William asked, “But how will I go, you seem far away,
And when shall I sleep, and where will I stay?”
His friend replied, “Climb on my back and you can rest where I lay”
And on climbed William, who was whisked away,
From the shore and the sand and the end of the day.
He was taken to a place that smelt like a dream,
Salt chips and pine cones and stardust that gleamed.
William asked, “Where are we going, and who will we see?”
His friend replied, “My friends you know them, they’re just like me,
The mountains, the skies, the stars and the sea,
Things that have been, and always will be.”
So he climbed through the mountains, and swam through the sea,
And flew to the stars,
And ran through the trees,
Then they lay silent and rested with ease,
Floating hand in hand, like spirits set free.
William turned to his friend to say,
“Will I be like the mountains some day?”
His friend replied, “Now you are a part of the sea,
The mountains, the stars, and even the trees,
So yes you are and always will be.”
Then they rested all night,
And they hummed and they dreamed,
Of things that have been, and always will be.
Vicrim Singh Chima
Educational History
Learning and Living
September 1999 - December 2003
Bachelor of Arts, University of California at Berkeley
Political Science, Political Economy, & History
September 2016 - December 2018
Master of Arts, Villanova University
History, Public History, & Material Culture
Get To Know Me
My Background
I was born in a small rural town called Yuba City, CA. My grandparents and parents were Sikh immigrants from the state of Punjab in India. I was educated at local public schools and then at the University of California, after which I spent ten years of my life as a City Planner, specializing in Historic Preservation in Los Angeles. I returned to graduate school in 2016 to accept a scholarship from Villanova University to study History and have since returned to Urban Planning.
I have an affinity for all things literary, artistic, musical, and structural. I have a deep belief in the sciences and what they reveal to us about our natural world. I hope I am worthy enough one day to be considered a writer.
