Simpler Times: The Gifts of Childhood

Toes of my sneakers digging in the sand.

Cool stainless steel chains strain beneath my hands.

Lifting my feet I set the tire swing free,

Rotating infinitely faster until the eventual slowdown.

. . .

Glancing upwards at the Moon’s face glowing.

I step free from the rubber ring, seeking balance, my palm finds a tree.

My equilibrium struggles to regain its balance.

A feat that doesn’t come as easily as it once did in days long gone by.

. . .

I meander to the slide and sit upon the edge.

Many years have passed since this school was my own.

Yet I’ve found myself lingering here recently when sleep is hard to find.

I feel the need to linger in a simpler, care-free time.

. . .

It seems that’s the only way to quiet my mind,

With the solace to be found here. It’s always helped me through,

To become absorbed in this place of abundant memories.

Each so different yet cherished all the same.

. . .

My eyes wander over the now faded equipment,

Recalling when it was all a new and exciting addition.

Classmates and I queued up, we’d get into position.

All of us wanted to be the first to sample each new piece of equipment.

To set an example, of who could be the coolest, the bravest.

. . .

Who could soar on the swings?

Spin the Merry-Go-Round the fasted?

Make it across the zipline in one go?

All the silly fun that we had, meant more than you could know.

. . .

Now, I linger by the water’s edge,

Visions of us sitting here, bottles of iced tea set beside our knees,

As we giggled and skipped rocks across the creek.

These memories appear as if carried upon a sunlit breeze like motes of pollen shedding from the trees.

. . .

Riding our bikes along these dirt paths,

Racing through each summer day like it would never be the last.

Come September we’d return to our classrooms.

Still amazed at how quickly August had passed.

. . .

We all shared such a bond back then,

One we thought we’d share forever,

Stretching far beyond our future’s horizon,

“Best friends 4ever” was the promise we made.

. . .

The love we had for one another, we were sure, would not ever fade.

Then life happened,

Some moved away, parents relocated for work.

Others simply went their own way as our grade levels ascended.

. . .

I wonder now, where everyone is today?

If we were face to face, what would we say?

Would we reminisce about the sultry June mornings, daring one another to swing on a willow frond, jumping into the creek?

Would we muse over our trips to camp?

. . .

How we’d all count the days left ’til that week?

Or remember how we’d built our forts in the forest,

Alternately pretending we were living in huts upon the Amazon, and rulers in our castles?

We’d hold court until the fireflies arrived and signaled the day’s true end.

. . .

Oh, how I cherished our friendships and still wish you all the best…

Wherever you are, I heard now you’ve moved out West?

I rise from the Merry-Go-Round,

And take one final look around me…

. . .

Apparitions from the past fade away into the night.

I’m comforted by the knowledge that they’re all tucked safely away in the recesses of time.

Lingering here as if upon a reel, only captured by my mind.

Now, I’m finally ready to go, I’ll seek some much-needed rest.

. . .

This poem was originally published on Medium.

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