Sunday, July 5, 2020

trusting the tether to childhood



nostalgia and living now


how much of who we were as children

stays with us into old age?

turning 70 is 2 years in the past now,

and my childhood is 2/3 of a century behind me,

yet friends from that time are still in my thoughts

and remind me of who I was then,

remind me of the line that holds me like a tether to back then,

a grounding I need to revisit

to feel continuity of career and family with the little kid:

birthday parties, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts,

teachers who helped me move forward,

friends who shared their selves with me,

friends who still like me for who I am,

friends who I still treasure for who they are,


two of my friends from elementary school and high school

visited with me in the last few days,

we talked of nostalgia and who we are now,

in the twinkle and fire in their eyes

I saw the kid still alive in the adult

making the world a better place:

connecting, giving, playing the hands they were dealt,

all with a sureness that to endure and help

is the best of who we are,

and true to who we were.



by Henry H. Walker
July 4, ‘20

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