Oh To Be That Child Again Poem by Katherine Kay Graven

[Verse 1]
Daddy's on the tractor, plowing up the ground
Wiping his brow as the sun beats down
Hauling hay, cutting tobacco, stripping every stock
Not quitting until he finishes the job
[Pick up a soft drum beat]
[Verse 2]
Freshly loosened dirt beneath my bare feet
Running along fence rows where neighbors meet
Digging up fishing worms, headed for the pond
With an old cane pole, fishing all day long

And
[Verse 3]
Eating wild blackberries picked off the vine
Pulling out splinters, never paying them no mind
Scraped-up knees and riding tobacco-stick horses
Swinging on the swings of neighbors' front porches

[Chorus]
Oh, to be that child again

Running through that old farmhouse door
The wood stove burning like an old friend forsure
And
Tasting Mom's cooking was the best part of my day

The table was set, and Daddy prayed
And the whole world went away

(Oh, to be that child
again)

[Verse 4]
A bottle-fed calf was a pet and a friend
Pigs, horses, chickens, cows grazing over the land
Barn cats scattering, my dog Lady lying in the shade
Riding beautiful horses down the trails we made

[Bridge]
Drinking cool spring water from a tin cup
Climbing the tallest trees, never once giving up
Sitting on the rooftop underneath God's stars
Catching lightning bugs and keeping them in

Mason jars

Remembering 

Exploring outside from dawn until dusk
Hiding in the hayloft when I got mad

I even drove that tractor for my Dad

(Oh to run through those Fields again)

[Verse 5]
Ice-skating on our pond when winter came around
Sledding in an old car hood over snow-covered ground
Cold wind on my cheeks, snow brushing my face
There wasn't any screen that could take its place

[Final Chorus]

Oh, to be that child again

Running through the old farmhouse door
The wood stove burning like an old friend forsure
And 
Tasting Mom's cooking was the best part of my day

The table was set, and Daddy prayed
And the whole world went away

(Oh, to be that child again)

Family photographs of days
Gone by, laid out in front of me
Realizing
The past just caught
Up with
Me

Oh to be that child again

[Long Solo acoustic strings]

And the whole world
went
Away.

Oh, to be that child again

It all went away……

[Outro]

I want
to be that
child
again

It all went
Away….

Written by
Katherine Kay Graven
August twelve,
Two thousand twenty six