Childhood Poem by Lynn W. Petty

Changing of diapers; their crawling, then walk;
Running and skipping; their first day of school;
Answering questions; insatiable 'whys; "
Breathlessly rushing from this place to that;
Her music, dancing; his baseball and scouts;
Chicken pox; measles; a fever; the mumps;
Christmas day; Santa; their presents; the tree;
Joy of our seeing enchantment, delight;
Junior high over then, senior high school;
Frustrating; baffling; turbulent times;
Contesting home rule; encouraged by peers;
With blemished faces; smiling through braces;
Angular; awkward; ungraceful; raw-boned;
Marching bands; football; untidy in dress;
Hair askew; first date; worrisome; out late.

Living was fitful, no meter to life.
Suddenly over, the strife of their youth;
Twenty-five years had escaped, so it seemed.
Children were grown, both married and gone,
Heavy the silence that hung in their place.
Sitting together, alone by the fire,
She reminiscing, while I rapt in thought,
Lingering memories dance in the flames,
Faces of children that flash in the glow.
Childhood, how blessed those early young years.