Youthful Innocence

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 as a child, I was able to laugh with ease and abandon

At the allure of the small, sweet birds flying above,

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

As bare toes mingled with rough grains of sand,

And felt the warmth of the sun on shoulders that knew no toil.

Fresh was the sweet taste of homemade pies and ice cream

Or ripe watermelon juice on our chins.

The chitter-chatter of adults filled the summer silence;

And laughter, ease, security, were all wrapped in a veil so thin.

Nights were spent gazing at the star-studded skies

Dreaming of lands so far away and distant,

We knew 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.