Day 20: Past Imperfect

This idea came to me as a result of seeing so many pix on Facebook of people from their childhoods, not the least of which, my own.

Past Imperfect
By Batsheva 12/21/09

Looking at photographs of youth,
We see carefree, joy-filled days.
But do we ask, is it the truth,
Or just a glance through a gauzy haze
Of memory so faded,
Gilded by those so jaded,
That they need to believe
That there ever was a time
When love wouldn't leave
And reason had a rhyme?

Yes, we look at pictures
From the past
And ask, why couldn't happiness last?
But perhaps we might be wise
To look at them through different eyes.
The eyes of a child
Being bossed by adults
Teased by peers
With sad results
Afraid of the dark
So late at night
Having to listen
To parents fight
Striving to learn
But scared to fail
The thought of it
Could make you wail.

So rather than pining
For a wonderful youth,
We should take a step back
And remember the truth.