I used to...

A Poem by D. L. Vaccaro

I used to laugh and play, my heroes were Darth Vader and Han Solo.
Grassy fields and endless summer, had fun on the playground every day,
Nap-time always left me bored, I used to practice being a drummer.
Picture Day I always wore a polo, back when telephones had cords.

I used to pout and cry, as a teenager reading National Geographic,
Always looking for meaning, on lonely nights I prayed to God: "Why?"
I lost religion and found Marx, My politics shifted to left-leaning
The human condition is tragic, I have two many scars that left marks.

I used to try and drink it all away, that's what they do on the screen,
Just a stupid twenty-something, if I knew then what I know today...
What joy that might bring, if then I knew that pain was in everything
Sometimes if you know what I mean, I've just got a song to sing.

I used to sit around the house, bored with absolutely nothing to do.
Late-twenties and a bloody wreck, I possess the bravery of a mouse,
I never expected to be your friend, then car crash; broken neck.
Another life over, its true, none of it even mattered in the end.