The Innocence of Youth

Visions flood the images of my mind’s eye

Of a happy, charmed point in time so random

When things were simple and so carefree

And a child laughed with ease and abandon.

The allure of the small, sweet birds flying above,

The sound and salty smell of the ocean’s roll,

Bare toes mingling with rough grains of sand,

The warmth of the sun on shoulders knowing no toil.

The sweet smell and taste of homemade pies and ice cream

Or ripe watermelon juice running down your chin.

The chitter-chatter of adults filling the silence;

Laughter, ease, security, wrapped in a veil ever so thin.

Nights spent gazing at the star-studded skies

Dreaming of lands so far away and distant,

Knowing no bounds with how our lives would twist or turn

To take us to places dreamt of with little or no resistance.

Life is so simple and sweet when one is young

While the hinges of doorways have not yet spread,

Opening to things that seek to pull us elsewhere

From the places whence we were once well-placed to tread.