I Remember When… Poem by C Richard Miles

So why can’t things just be the way they used to be?
And why aren’t scenes we spy, the sights we used to see?
For can’t we ever try those things we used to try?
Why won’t they let things lie the way they used to lie?
Now does no poet pen the lines he used to write?
Yet why are things we seek just shielded from our sight?

As swift the memories begin to fade from sight
And we’ll start to forget the times that used to be,
I’ll put aside the time now just to put things right
And write about the things that we were used to see
When Ministers resigned and didn’t tell a lie
And Gareth Edwards dived to score that vital try.

To recollect the past, I think I’ll have a try
And here are several things that I would like to cite:
A swift glance at the map would tell you where roads lie:
You needed no Sat Nav to get from A to B,
The channel on the box was just the BBC
And swearing was taboo and not a human right.

You needed just to find some paper and pen to write;
Now word-processors are the only means to try.
To cross the Channel you must sail across the sea
And every city centre was not a building site,
When the thing that buzzed was just a honey bee
Instead of mobile phones that all around you lie.

When bygones were bygones and people let things lie,
When pin numbers were unknown and not a tedious rite,
When Health and Safety didn’t say how things should be
And let you try to do those things you wished to try;
Those were the days that long have vanished from the sight
But life was oh, so simple, as you plainly see.

So there are just some things that we now fail to see;
I miss them from the past but wouldn’t tell a lie
For new future horizons begin to come in sight
And new technology means that, whether wrong or right,
We ought to be prepared to take a risk and try
And see if things aren’t as bad as they seem to be.

Envoi:
If only we could try to be what we can be
And speak no evil lie and leave no ugly sight,
Then we will surely see that things will turn out right.