On Growing Up, or To a Child on the Cusp of Adulthood

Adulthood's hour has come to call
Childhood's time has lost its thrall
The clock chimes now, a tolling bell
Marking the passing with every knell

No more games, no time to play
For fragile youth's long gone astray
No hobby horses or decoder rings
The time has passed for simpler things

Leave your toys to gather dust
Leave the playground alone to rust
Be one of us, the time is nigh
So hurry now, and say goodbye

To innocence and naïveté
Leave your hope out in the street
Put away your childish things
Here we have no use for dreams

Imagination's a liability
That clings with fervent tenacity
Put it away with your childish things
Here we have no use for dreams
Here we have no use for dreams