Tell
me, where is the little boy
Who
so loved to romp and play?
Oh!
The years their toll have taken…
How
I let them slip away…
To return…
what I would not give!
But
I can’t to youth return;
Yes,
I miss those days of childhood
For
them I shall ever yearn…
Long
before I knew the troubles
And
the cares that plague all men,
Back
when I was but a young boy
Oh!
How happy I was then!
All was
well, and I felt safe there
In
the haven of my home;
Oh,
to go and dwell once more there…
From
it I would never roam!
Oh, to
hear familiar voices,
And
to know that all is well
With
the dear ones I remember
And
with whom I loved to dwell.
If I
only would have known then
What
I know as I stand here
I’d
have paid much more attention
To
the things I now hold dear…
For what’s
gone cannot be reclaimed,
It’s
forever in the past;
Memories
are all that’s left now
How
I pray that they will last!
How we
miss the days with mother,
And
the time we spent with dad;
How
we love the precious mem’ries…
We
knew not then what we had.
Sunday
dinner down at Grandma’s
(I
still see the table set);
All
the children playing gaily
Special
times we can’t forget.
I will
cherish what I had then
In
my dreams of yesterday;
In this
way I’ll pass the long years
In
the fight amidst the fray.
And this
old man in the mirror
Who
is staring back at me
Will
recall the happy mem’ries
Of
the years that were carefree.
Looking
ever to my childhood
For
the strength I need today;
I will
live again the old times
And
once more I’ll romp and play.
If you
look into your mirror
And
there see an aging face
It will
do you good to visit
Your
own special hidden place.
Go again
back to your childhood
Think
of mother’s loving face;
Think
of dad, and all the fam’ly:
That
is your own special place.
No one
here can take it from you
And
it’s not that far away.
Age
is but an outer symptom
Don’t
forget to romp and play.
You’re
as old as you choose to be
Be
as happy as you please;
If you’ll
look at life in this way
It
will bring your heart much ease.
Stop
right now, and just remember…
Think
back o’er the many years,
Don’t
you feel your heart now warming
As
you shed those happy tears?
H.
L. Gradowith
08-21-01
Gradowiths
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