Return to Childhood
A plaintive wish rises in my mind:
I long for simpler days all gone by.
The child I was I can no longer find
My life is too complex, my thoughts too refined
And I can�t rediscover myself, though I try.
Part of the longing for my early years
May be for the house I lived in and called home
For broken rules and painful tears
For violent crimes and ensuing fears
For the neighborhood which left me alone
Perhaps the freedom found in the beginning
Free time to jump in a pile of leaves
To play with my brother, even though I�m not winning
(Then thrashing him soundly for winning and grinning)
Perhaps it�s for times such as this that I grieve
Or maybe the lack of responsibility
The happy feeling of no obligations
No professors to please, no people to see
No bills to pay, no money-based worry
No concerning myself with my parents� frustrations
Surely the battle between two extremes
Wearies my soul and makes me wish to return
To not caring whether fears are different from dreams
Not caring if right and wrong are separate themes
Or if they�re more than merely things I must learn
And I cannot recover my youth, though I try