A Kid at Heart

Can anyone relate?

Miss those days without a care

Could've been something in the air

Always had a good time

Didn't matter where

Walked down the path of nostalgia

Left a lot of memories there

That happy-go-lucky temperament as an adult is rare

Like it's hidden deep inside some secret lair

I miss hugs and kisses

"Bless your heart"s and well wishes

Hope and ambition

Even forced chores like doing dishes

Now I pull my hair out by the inches

And most days are a struggle with

God as my witness

I've been given a hard time

But to life i'm still committed

Yet

I think there are times we'd all have to admit

Where we miss youth's freedom

No paying bills

Or owing rent

And scold ourselves for wanting to grow up too fast

While as adults we chase a time already past.

Author's Note

Edit: I would like to say thank you to everyone for not only taking the time to read this piece, but also sharing some of the most precious moments in your lives with me. It makes me feel that much closer to all my writer friends on here! I hope before I leave this world I can leave someone with memories they cherish as much as I do.
Ignore grammar, and if you like, comment with a favorite childhood memory of yours!

Reviews

[barleygirl]

I’ve missed seeing you here in my newsfeed, so thanks for read-requesting me – that way, I won’t miss reading anything new you’re posting. This is a great poem that reflects the longing I’ve felt so much lately. All my writing seems to be about memories & nostalgia becuz life turns kinda dull as an old person! I love the way your rhyme & rhythm add to the lighthearted mood of this message. You use solid imagery to show how this can feel for many of us. And I love the way you invite people to share a childhood memory. I most miss hiking – something I did constantly all my life, until ten years ago or so when I started having trouble walking, then I couldn’t walk at all for a year, had neck surgery, & it took me two years to learn to walk again. Sometimes I dream that my legs can still hunker up a steep hill, but actually I’m only hobbling along these days. Your poem has lots of longing nostalgia notes, but in the end, it’s a celebration of our memories & I thank you for sharing (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Fanicia E.]

Thank you for sharing that with us, it seems like it'd be very fun to go out and explore, and just enjoy nature. I'm sorry that you had to go through problems with your health, but your inner strength is amazingly admirable. One of my favorite memories as a kid was going to a really nice park with my sister and aunt, and feeding "the duckies and the fishies" bread. Even though we all have times where we miss being younger and able to do more, I'm glad I can still treasure those precious moments.

[barleygirl]

I love hearing about your park/duck-feeding memories! I remember that, once in awhile, too!

[Fanicia E.]

thank you :)

[Samuel Dickens]

Amen! With some great rhyming, you've spoken great truth. Now in the evening of my life, my thoughts are quite often in the past when I rode bikes, climbed trees and all that other, wonderful stuff.

[Fanicia E.]

Thank you for taking the time to read and review this piece, and i'm glad you could relate!

[BlackPrince]

Here you definitely and perfectly capture those nostalgic feelings most adult have in missing innocent days of childhood.
Therefore, as adults it is our responsibility to make sure that our little children, little brothers and sisters who are still innocent to the ways of this world, it is our duty to make sure that they enjoy their childhood and look back with fond memories. For it is evil and selfish when some adult assume that just because they suffered growing up and burdened with bills, taxes and the like, that little ones have to feel these things too in their early years

WELL DONE

[Fanicia E.]

Well said! Thank you for the lovely review.

[Williams Ike]

Childhood experience is something we wish last forever. But life is a progressive journey that must take us past many terrane vis a vis childhood,teenagehood,adulthood,etc. Well penned memories dear!

[Fanicia E.]

Thank you and you are most definitely right!

[T.S. Sky]

Yes I can relate too.
I'm still a big kid at heart.
Childhood memories stick with us forever it seems. ☺

[Fanicia E.]

Same here. I feel like everyone should embrace their inner child.

[T.S. Sky]

I think so too.

[Effie]

Thank you for sharing your captured youth in words. Yes the responsibilities are heavy at times but I see that carefree girl within your words. Still there walking down a path of happy in the moment.
I will think upon a childhood memory I to share. Thank you for stirring this thought to life.
Well done my friend! Good writing.

[Fanicia E.]

Thank you Effie! and I look forward to hearing one of your memories :)

[Donna]

I love this poem! I miss everything about my childhood, but the best was just playing outside with my friends, so carefree, we felt safe.

[Fanicia E.]

To me there's nothing better than reflecting on those fond memories when they come rushing back. Thank you for the love.

[Lavi]

Wish I could relate. I had an alcoholic father with a family history of psychological abuse in my childhood. Even the days I felt were freeing were soon corrupted by age and wisdom in seeing the reality of it. How my older brother was forever his favorite no matter how hard I tried to fit the mold for his (tainted) love, the way he turned my mother (a remarkable woman) into a trophy wife and nearly destroyed her self-esteem in their marriage. In a way I almost thank the alcohol for turning his mind to mush, the seizures and car wrecks placing him in a wheelchair and rehab all in two years and giving my mother the reason to leave him with what little of our childhood we had left.I was fourteen then and for the next two years were probably the most freeing despite the weight I carried to keep us with a roof over our heads while we tried to recover from the abuse he subjected us to and I tried to make a future out of his control. It took almost half a decade but we are now all happily grown into ourselves, neither molds of anyone or anything. My eighteenth birthday was my most freeing moment, I think, like an end of an age when my childhood finally came to an end...
Strange how the future is more embracing than the past when humans are known for their fear of the unknown - while I embrace it.
(A bittersweet childhood, I suppose)
Unrelations aside, I love the way this was written and the flow of it has me admiring (read: envious) but it also gives me introspection of what other people's childhoods were like and what mine could've been like. Although I totally agree with the taxes... at least we have phone apps to help with that now though!

[Fanicia E.]

Firstly, I am sorry that you had a difficult childhood growing up, and I appreciate that you were willing to share something so personal about yourself (which I feel gives a voice to those not as privileged/come from rough upbringings). Although your childhood wasn't ideal, may I ask if there's any memories as an adult that you cherish, or a great moment in your life you like to think back on?

[Lavi]

Hmm, yeah, I think I got one. My brother and I have had a rocky relationship growing up because of our father but now that he is 21 and I'm 19 we've come along way. Although not as close as some siblings I've seen we have our moments. About six-seven years ago we had such a childish moment - I think because it was so weightless - where we were helping our grandparents pick their crab-apples without dropping them on the ground where their dog had an unhealthy obsession for eating them. Our grandparents, before they passed or developed much unloved health problems, treated us like children without the belittlement, and took us out to the City Lights where people were everwhere but I don't know there was beauty in it and we hit chain restaurants and they taught us how to bargain deals in shops. It was fun, relaxing, and gave me a chance to forget about family history and just be the sister of my brother, granddaughter of my faher's parents. Probably where I developed my unhealthy but don't care love for Chinese Food and crab Apple trees actually. I love this memory because it showed me that there was more to our lives outside our father and looking back at that memory it has shown me how love works where we know the dark and light sides of someone but love them nevertheless because they are trying for something better despite the mistakes they've made. My grandparents may have had a hand in creating my father but in the end it was my father who threw family back in our faces where he wanted entitlement. My father was molded into who he was and I think the part of him that resented that was what tipped the bottle, the alcohol did the rest, and who he could have been drowned in destruction. Last time I heard of him he has been consumed by his anger and is bitter, chasing after shadows, truly a shadow of what he had been. We are opposites I think, my father and I, how he drowns it what had been and wish could still be because he had recognition back then whereas I seek my potential which keeps my eyes on the horizon and my future. Introspective moments. Kind of rambled on for a bit there, my bad.

[Fanicia E.]

Don't apologize, i actually love talking to my fellow writers on here and getting to know them better, so ramble away! lol For example, I did not know you were 19, the way you write speaks of wisdom beyond your years. I'm 22 myself. Spending time with your grandparents and everything you described doing with them sounds lovely. I also think it's amazing how someone introducing you to something can change your perspective (especially when you realize how diverse people's experiences are). I thank God for all the people who were a positive influence when they didn't have to be. People say that parents try to make life better for the next generation, but sometimes that isn't true. Since you say you and your father are quite the opposites I have no doubt you can be the change you want to see, or be better than those before you, for your sake and your happiness. I know i'm not coming from the same place as you, but when my parents do things or have habits that let me down I try to see as "Well, at least I know what not to do/how to treat my future kids down the line". I guess i identify with the sentiment "if it's not a blessing it's a lesson". Despite being aware or conscious of those behaviors, sometimes I catch myself starting a similar trend and have to adjust accordingly. Maybe that's a bit unrelated, but I just felt like sharing.

[JSAECH]

Wonderful poem. I especially like the last line. I try to relive my past by having fun with my kids now and watching them grow. They keep me feeling young. I am hoping that I can do the same thing with grand kids one day.

[Fanicia E.]

Thank you :) Aww, I bet they are adorable and full of energy lol. How many children do you have, if you don't mind me asking?

[JSAECH]

4... between 6 and 13.

[Fanicia E.]

That's a blessing! I wonder what their favorite memories with you will be...

[JSAECH]

Hopefully... all of them :)

[Final-Karma]

It definitely feels like a different world now. I remember playing on playgrounds without a care for anything but the present moment. The days all blended together. One of my favorite past memories is the first time I saw a tiger. I was at the zoo and it came so close. It was mesmerizing seeing something so exotic and out of place. I have been in love with them every since. Thank you for sharing a piece of your mind.

[Fanicia E.]

I agree. It seems like kids don't really play outside anymore, but then again I was part of the generation that grew up playing outside and hanging around the neighborhood, but also remember when computers started to become more accessible to families (even though they were big and blocky, and everything took forever to load). The zoo is awesome, even more so as a kid. I think my favorite animal in general might be a sloth. Thank you for sharing that special memory with us :)

[Giulia King]

I miss those days sooo much. I think about my childhood memories all the time and how much I took that for granted. When summer got too hot in New York my family would always drive to the countryside, to visit my grandpa. Eating strawberries, playing outside for like 10 hours and never getting tired or bored, was life. I can go on forever about all the countryside adventures I went on. I truly miss those days. Thank you for sharing this amazing poem and for letting me share a little bit of me. :) xx

[Fanicia E.]

That sounds like heaven, especially since I could use a vacation right about now lol. But that sounds really idyllic and I know the beautiful surroundings in addition to the family time made those times invaluable. Thank you for sharing with us.