Then And Now

Hurrah!

Hilary at The Smitten Image

has included this post

in her

Age And Infancy

Charles Edward Marshall 1872-1922

Do you remember how big our world was, when we were little,

how important ? And we too were important.

Fearlessly parting meadows of tall grass, we swam into the unknown,
daisy chains, bees and butterflies, and creepy-crawlies of wondrous hue our reward.

How big our house was, a castle, for playing hide and seek,
stairs to mount and "look, I can fly", when coming back to earth again.
And grandad by the fire, in the deep, wide chair, a fortress too high to climb,

open arms lifting us to a safe haven in a breathless storm.

Remember our street, alive with the sound of  adventure;

jumping gutters as deep as any brook, we crossed untamed deserts to reach the oasis of
broken pavements where our friends played on the other side of the road. 

Scooters, tri-cyles, bi-cycles, legs pumping, we raced the wind.

How high the trees were, how loud the thunder,

the snow deep as the deepest feather bed,

how bright the sun, and how dark the clouds.
Days as long as years and years unimaginable.

And how clever they were, our minders and teachers,

how great their knowledge and wisdom.

They knew the way to the secrets of all the ages,

and they knew how to mend broken shins.

But all things must change.

We grew a little, in years and in inches,

mountains became hills and chairs mere seats.

Thunder and darkness now hold no fears,
grass must be mowed and daisies are weeds. 

We regret the smallness of houses,
sedately descend each flight of stairs.
Minders and teachers ourselves,
still hoping for knowledge and wisdom,
still lacking the art to mend broken hearts.