Youth was a miraculous time.

Life was undemanding with no thought of tomorrow,

As we squeezed every drop of sunshine out of every day,

Rainy days did not dampen our spirits,

As we sailed our paper boats down the new rivers made.

No rhyme or reason for the course we elected to take-

Accepting truth for what it was

For everything was truth,

As laughter filled the star lit sky,

As it bubbled off the lips of kids with bad haircuts.

Love was free of complications and commitments

And there was no love like puppy love,

I loved my dog, and she loved me and that was enough,

As bright inquisitive eyes greeted every new dawn

With the expectation of a new and glorious adventure.

Friends were made and not bought-

And battles were finished off with a game of hide and seek,

Life’s questions were solved under shade trees drinking Kool-Aid-

The grape kind that turned our tongues purple,

As we stuck them out to make our best goofy face.

We laid in the cool green grass looking up at the clouds

And pointed out the different animals we saw floating in the sky,

With all that I had at my fingertips

I was so eager to give it all up-

I couldn’t wait to grow up.

To do all the things that grown-ups do-

And almost overnight I was thrown into adulthood

Never again to venture back to that precious time,

Except in fond memories or peaceful dreams-

Such a foolish child was I.