Now That I Am Older Poem by Jim Yerman

Now that I am older…I love visiting the child I used to be
who would ride his bike out in the rain…or climb the highest tree…

Who believed in Santa Claus, saw faces in the clouds…
and never wondered why...
when he looked up on a moonless night...he saw starfish in the sky.

Who never cared about how he looked, or how much money his parents made
Who thought peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek were the best games ever played

Who could sit among the flowers watching the butterflies and bees…
Whose eyes were surprised more often…who was more innocent and free.

Now that I am older…I often stop to wonder…sometimes I fantasize
What the world would be like if we all grew up but kept our child's eyes…

Would we be unable to see differences in our color, sex or name?
Would we smile and talk to everyone as if we're all the same?

Would we welcome every visitor who enters through our door?
Would our world be one of peace and love?
Would we not think of war?

I have no proof things would be different…
but now that I'm older, as I say, I like to fantasize…
what our world would be like today
if we still saw it through our child's eyes.