The Rant- Poetry in Motion-Remember Them Days

Remember Them Days

I remember them days when growing up wasn't so hard when all of your life's dreams were written on the inside of a hallmark card. When you and your friends would be clowning around outside, jumping on old pissed-on mattresses and broken-down cardboard boxes.

Remember them days?

Remember them days when a fight was a fight, one-on-one, with no box cutters, razors, and not even one knife? When you cracked jokes on somebody's mother without them running to grab them thangs, to come back and try to end your life.

Remember them days?

Remember when the only thing that you had to worry about growing up, was not getting caught with your hands in the cookie jar, making sure that your brothers, sisters, and cousins also got some, so that they wouldn't sound off like the neighbor's car alarm.

Remember them days?

Too bad the times and the days have changed, because I can't even turn on the television anymore, without someone dying, crying, lying, stealing, or making waves. Boy, this world sure has changed, it's sad when your kids can't go outside and play the same games; Like freeze tag, Ringo-leave-o, or even kick the can, without someone's pride getting shamed.

Remember them days?

Oh, how I wish I could go back to change the hands of time, so that my kids would be fortunate enough to understand the difference between the choices of being on the grind, selling stuff that ain't worth the miles a judge would put on their behind, then trying to afford an attorney only to have your life pushed like a tape recorder, stop, record, play, fast forward, then rewind.

See that ain't for me or min, I just want the days when, you did a

crime, you got just that time, or when you missed your curfew, you already knew that switch, pot, pan, and/or black leather belt was going to wax that behind.

See all of that was fine because we knew that tomorrow would bring a brighter day, for us to play the games that weren't as serious as they are today.

Damn, I remember them days.

Do you remember them days?

Now that I'm older and I have created lives of my own, I think back to

them days, only to be left in this purple haze, knowing that I'll just have to teach my three sons about the different trappings, that the world has bargained for them, to be targeted like a missile being aimed at them for every mistake that they will eventually make.

Oh, how I wish that it could still be the same as it was for me growing up back in them days.

N. (originally written 9/9/05)