Childhood Shadows

Childhood Shadows

The sun seemed to shine brighter when I was a little girl,
fresh dew covered grass would sparkle with the eastern rays
and a new day would dawn with excitement and daydreams.
Children were free to roam at will
with no fear of snatching or molestation,
and every stay-at-home mom would monitor
all the kids if they gathered in their yards.
Lunchtime would arrive with the rumble of tummies
and we’d fill up on sandwiches and sugar laden Kool-Aid.
Moms would try the old standby of “it’s naptime right now,”
but they’d only be lucky if we rested our eyes
before we dashed for the doors again.
No complaints of “I’m bored” or “there’s nothing to do,”
because children were able to imagine the possibilities of games to play
and exercise a vivid attention to detail.
Dusk would arrive with a flicker of fireflies,
floating on the nighttime air
and each child would dance through the grass
as they tried to catch the lights to fill up Mason jars for one night.
And pleasant dreams would always come as the children nodded off
to the tiny glow of lightening bugs in dreaming childhood shadows.