A Child Again

Oh, to be a child again
and play from dawn to dark;
to skip and run till day is done
and never lose the spark.

To see the world through magic eyes
and always feel the sun;
to think that life is all a game
and everything is fun.

To know real joy in natural things,
like talking with the cat,
or playing hopscotch with a friend,
just simple things like that.

To get elated jumping rope
and almost touch the sky;
to think that I was born with wings,
can spread them wide and fly.

Those days are gone, oh this I know,
but sometimes when I dream,
I find inside my aging heart
a lingering youthful gleam.

~Copyright © 2001 Ruth Gillis~

Previously published in the January 2002
issue of Poets At Work