A Child Again Poem by Ernestine Northover
A Child Again
I'm a child again,
as memories come flooding back.
Here I am standing outside my old school
which is due to be demolished for something more modern.
Nobody's about, all is silence, except for the birds
chattering away in the same old Elm tree
which still stands against the side of the bicycle shed.
Such a strange feeling, something I can't describe.
I lift the latch on the gate, and walk through
into the playground, and pause awhile.
Voices seem to echo in the air around me.
Ah! Sarah, the noisy one with the ginger hair, into every scrape,
always a whirlwind. Unstoppable was Sarah.
Robert the shy, reserved one. Never mixed much, a bit of a loner really.
I heard somewhere, that he'd become a lawyer or something.
And, Yes. Jenny. Who could forget Jenny.
Jenny McKenny, who was clever at everything,
always laughing, always smiling, always your friend.
I wonder where they are now.
All have gone forever.
A terrible loneliness is creeping over me.
Why did I come. To refresh my memories, perhaps,
some bad, some good.
So long ago now, that they all feel good to me,
tinged with a sadness in my heart for what has been.
I'm reliving those memories of when I was a child,
with the hopes and thoughts of a child.
Moving towards the gate, unthinking as usual.
I'm forgetting to close it
like I used to do all those years ago.
I must turn around and close it now
And then there was our teacher, Mrs Saunders.
Oh My! What's this, a tear? .
© Ernestine Northover
I've been there too Ernestine. A few years ago they knocked down my first school and I got so emmotional. It was just like a piece of my life had been torn away. Thanks for sharing this great work. Andrew x
You paint it all so clearly Ernestine, with your easy command of the language - enhanced of course by the emotional wistfulness that is ever present. Isn't it fascinating how clear the images are of so long ago, and yet those of the recent past often seem blurred somehow. A nostalgic sombre read. love, Allie ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Omg what a sweet poem! totally love the ending! great work! xxx
Wonderful, heart felt poem. I wrote a similar poem, Once Upon A Playground, I understand the feelings you've expressed here, loneliness and the tear also. Remembering the past is always so bittersweet. Thank you for sharing. RoseAnn
A lot of things, I liked in this poem First you stand out side your ‘school’…the place you started learning life… to be demolished soon? A good introspect here…then you lift the latch of the gate…your mind…there you hear the echo of your past ‘child hood’ days…your early actions in your life… the roles you played and you played with…the vastness of the playing ground adding beauty to the word echo… In the concluding lines you shut out your mind…comes out to face the realities in life once more…the ‘teacher’ there is the symbol of the disciplining controlling advising force…the Lord Himself…and a thanks giving tear… Great poem this…ten grade
My old primary school is long abandoned now. Talk of flats..... So tiny looking a place now! One of my old classmates lives in South Africa or somewhere now. Yes I get it. Tissues please.. Paul.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
12/4/2025 11:40:46 PM # 1.0.0
We have to go back, don't we, whether we want to or not? But there's always that slight emptiness - as if the past stil holds unfinished business. F