Thursday, April 9, 2015

Childhood

Childhood

Counting the train cars.
One, two, three, four.
Queen Anne's Lace tiaras
are woven into our hair.

Pick a number, pick a color.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Cootie catchers: paper folded in triangles
will tell your fortune...if you dare!

Jacks and marbles played in the dirt.
Onesies, twosies, threes, and fours.
An ant invades the playing field,
carrying a crumb, taking it---who knows where?

Hide-and-seek played after dark
quickly becomes Ghosts in the Graveyard.
"I've got the best hiding spot.
I'm not telling you where."

Moths flutter around the back porch light.
Edges of the yard are deep in shadow.
"I see you hiding behind that tree."
"Hey, you peeked! That's not fair!"

How lucky am I to have had that childhood?
Who knew such happiness could be found
in making felt clothes and Popsicle® stick furniture
for pig-nosed trolls with purple hair?

29 comments:

  1. Anonymous4/09/2015

    I love this, Daisy. You jogged so many fun memories from childhood!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderfully nostalgic! We did many of these things. And then there were lightning bugs too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a beautiful poem, Daisy! I remember those trolls, and playing Ghosts In The Graveyard. Our parents never seemed to worry about us playing outside after dark.

    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous4/10/2015

    Memories from a gentler time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sweet memories of simpler times!

    ReplyDelete
  6. How neat... Love your poem, Connie. My childhood was similar.. I remember playing games outside all summer until it got dark... I remember catching lightning bugs in a glass jar... I remember going to the little movie theater on Saturday mornings to see the cowboy shows.... What a great childhood I had.

    Have a great weekend.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  7. I forgot until I read this - how fun my childhood was also - ...wonderful whimsy in this poem - .loved it. As Betsy did - my most ingrained memories are catching lightning bugs, playing under the raised porch - it was our hospital, playing with my candyland game figures out in the dirt on the side of the house - stringing a tin can as a phone to the house next door, oh and always losing the roller skate key. Howdy Doody was on TV on Saturdays and Tom and Jerry was my favorite cartoon. Clara Belle was a cool clown...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Did we grow up in the same neighborhood. Add croquet to the mix, and you painted my childhood. Lovely poem. Riding bikes forever.........Happy Friday to you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I often lament what my grandchildren have missed. They are all involved in *organized* sports, but most their free time is ruled by technology. My neighborhood gang played outdoors all day long. I waited to hear my mother swing a big bell that summoned us home for dinner. *sigh*

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh how I love this. It brings to mind so many wonderful memories. Great poem as usual Daisy.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You're writing about my childhood...how did you know ? ( :) )

    ReplyDelete
  12. My childhood was more like:
    "X, X, O, O, crap I died. No fair, you're screen-cheating!"

    ReplyDelete
  13. I enjoyed this so much and remember playing hard outside til late and whining to Mother, "It's not dark!"

    ReplyDelete
  14. You bring back fun memories. I think I enjoyed more the process of making a cootie catcher, versus being taken through one.

    Thanks for this blissful and poetic nostalgia.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I know what you mean Daisy... I really think my girls missed out on a fun time... ones where we ran around and used our imaginations playing with a ball, a jump rope and hiding behind trees... fabulous memories... this was a wonderful poem... xox

    ReplyDelete
  16. I loved your poem, Daisy ..
    Brought back some great memories of my childhood
    I am reliving the game of hide and seek with my granddaughter Rose and having so much fun!
    Smiles ..

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thank you all for your comments. I enjoyed hearing about your childhood memories and share many of them with you too.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh me too!!! It was such fun.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh Daisy, I love this. Not only is it light and happy and kiddish and total fun memories, but the writing is amazing in how it flows and dances and kept me reading.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Daisy,
    I love your poem, "Childhood." You've used fantastic imagery and this poem brings back so many memories of my growing up years. I love this poem! Hope you're having a wonderful spring.

    ReplyDelete
  21. O valor das coisas não está no tempo que elas duram, mas na intensidade com que acontecem.
    Por isso existem momentos inesquecíveis, coisas inexplicáveis e pessoas incomparáveis.(Fernando Sabino)
    Um lindo e abençoado final de semana!!!
    Abraços Marie.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Love the poem. It dies bring me back to my own childhoid memories. I'm glad to have been able to play same games such as hide and seek. It was such a lovely time. :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. This has really inspired me - I may have mentioned to you before that I am busy working on a short childrens story for university and I've been having IMMENSE trouble with it because it is really hard for me to get into the mindset of a child... this has given me that inspiration and mindset. Thank you. As always, your words are gold x

    www.bohemianmuses.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Definitely had some of those memories..... I made so many of those paper triangles with numbers on them....

    Jacks for hours. Popsicle sticks... ah the fun of eating so many to make a covered box. Lol...

    Thanks for the trip back to much simpler times...

    ReplyDelete
  25. Such a sweet poem Daisy. It does bring me back to remember my childhood and how thankful I am for the one I had!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Aww so sweet! I remember loving but also being terrified by the whoosh of trains as they zoomed past.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hello greetings and good wishes.

    Wonderful poem and it reminded me of my own childhood. I did count the number of coaches attached to the train and sometimes I do that even now, I played hide and seek, I played caroms, I played card games, I played word building, I flew kites, I swam some rivers, I climbed trees to pick fruits etc,etc.

    Best wishes

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thank you everyone for sharing your childhood memories with me. I really enjoyed reading these comments. They were indeed simpler times.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I love this poem, Daisy. It brings back so many memories of my childhood. Your poetry is a pleasure to read.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and leave a comment here. I hope you come back again. There's more where that came from!