memories of my feral youth flash like jiffy pop in my head at the sight of buttercups in bloom what wild little beasts we were slamming the screen door on our way to never land at dawn small change in our pockets to spend on penny candy, the streetlights striking midnight at dusk when all good brats scurried back home before turning into pumpkins, days in the sunshine with dandelion stem curls in our hair, the gritty satisfying taste of mud, fashioning queen Anne’s lace into bouquets, collecting fossil rocks, garden snakes in coffee tins, and pop bottles to earn enough money, 50 cents, for a Saturday matinee fearless, it’s a wonder any of us survived considering how cautiously we rear our progeny in 21st century bubbles…once upon a lifetime ago monsters hid under our beds or in the closet never dared to stalk us in daylight… simpler times then, nights illuminated by fireflies in pickle jars buttercups glowing under our chins to prove we liked butter ringing round rosies like whirligigs on a breeze, down, down…to ashes
~kat
NaPoWriMo 2023 Challenge Day Twenty/Seven: write your own poem titled “The ________ of ________,” where the first blank is a very particular kind of plant or animal, and the second blank is an abstract noun. The poem should contain at least one simile that plays on double meanings or otherwise doesn’t quite make “sense,” and describe things or beings from very different times or places as co-existing in the same space.
This an amazing testimony to our youth….whatever happened to the world. I know the dangers were there then and evil things did happen but? Is it just the gentle shroud of of time that makes those endless summer childhood days seem so gentle or were they? …Hard to say it depends on our circumstances but I love the way you paint it and hanker for simpler times. 💜💜
I often wonder about that too Willow. Were we all blissfully unaware of the dangers or has something snapped in our collective soul? I lean toward the latter…today is much more dangerous I’d say since our leaders’ lust for power has invited the monsters out of hiding, with hate is a badge of belonging, and provided them with easy access to military grade weapons. I’m sure there was danger back in our day, the threat of nuclear attack and school drills under our desks…and random horrible stories that would surface now and then. But when violence by guns is the leading cause of death for children in this country…I think these days are imminently more dangerous. 😟
Yes sadly Kat I have to agree with yours on all of this. Our world is growing ever more dangerous. Over here in the UK we notice many more crimes of violence… I do not recall it being so when I was a child as you say evil is ever present and our leaders are giving it free range .💜
Thank you Sadje. It seemed like a safer, simpler time…or maybe we were blissfully unaware of how scary the world is. Childhood seems much more complicated these days…
So it is easier for you to find all the parts/chapters of my ongoing fiction series, I created a new page that lists all the links. You can check it out HERE!
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April 28th, 2023 at 3:03 am
This an amazing testimony to our youth….whatever happened to the world. I know the dangers were there then and evil things did happen but? Is it just the gentle shroud of of time that makes those endless summer childhood days seem so gentle or were they? …Hard to say it depends on our circumstances but I love the way you paint it and hanker for simpler times. 💜💜
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April 28th, 2023 at 6:27 am
I often wonder about that too Willow. Were we all blissfully unaware of the dangers or has something snapped in our collective soul? I lean toward the latter…today is much more dangerous I’d say since our leaders’ lust for power has invited the monsters out of hiding, with hate is a badge of belonging, and provided them with easy access to military grade weapons. I’m sure there was danger back in our day, the threat of nuclear attack and school drills under our desks…and random horrible stories that would surface now and then. But when violence by guns is the leading cause of death for children in this country…I think these days are imminently more dangerous. 😟
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April 28th, 2023 at 6:44 am
Yes sadly Kat I have to agree with yours on all of this. Our world is growing ever more dangerous. Over here in the UK we notice many more crimes of violence… I do not recall it being so when I was a child as you say evil is ever present and our leaders are giving it free range .💜
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April 28th, 2023 at 4:17 am
Oh I love the imagery your words have evoked Kat. A beautiful poem
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April 28th, 2023 at 6:30 am
Thank you Sadje. It seemed like a safer, simpler time…or maybe we were blissfully unaware of how scary the world is. Childhood seems much more complicated these days…
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April 28th, 2023 at 7:31 am
I think it was safer and simpler
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