The Years Gone By Poem by Joseph T. Renaldi

Oh, the years gone by, the years gone by!
The trees in the orchard, and passage through the rye.
The mourning dove and the shrill of the quail
as it skipped across the yard gingerly as well
when the blossoms were on the trees beneath the azure sky.

The years gone by when my bare feet were tripped
by the vegetative tangles where water lilies dripped,
and the waves of the stream striking the moss along the brink.
where the complacent and thirsty catttle came to drink,
and the woodcocks stood fearless of the vagrant's cry,
and the splashing of the swimmers as the years went by.

Oh, the years gone by, the years gone by!
The eloquent words of the lip, the luster of the eye,
The juvenile trust in fairy tales, and powers of the magic ring-
The self assuring and firm belief in everything-
When life was rather simple, holding neither sob or sigh
in the glorious days of the years gone by.