As a child, we lived our lives from day to day,
We learned how to laugh, how to love and how to play,
In our imagination, we became our mighty hero,
All it took was a cape made of the case of our pillow.
From the simplest items found in our room,
We could travel to any country, even the moon.
We became the noblest knight or the prettiest maiden fair; We defend our castles, made of blankets, cushions and the chair.
Outside we would let our imagination fly,
As we formed shapes in the clouds up in the sky.
At night, we caught fireflies to keep in a jar,
Then stare up at the stars and wonder, “Just how far?”

As a teen our lives changed to facts from a book,
Now the other sex was worth that second look.
Our games, they were care free no more,
Now we learned that we must keep score.
The toys are no longer simple that we keep within our room,
Now with our computer we travel father than the moon.
We battle villains, enemy armies, even evade a cop,
We are hooked on these devices almost nonstop.
Outside, our imagination, we no longer let roam,
We look to the night sky and ask, “Are we alone?”

Now as adults, we use our imagination no more,
We judge our own lives by how we keep the score.
Many are no longer the hero we once wished we could be,
Mostly now, our travels are limited to what we see on T.V.
No longer can we see fancy shapes made of cloud,
The music from the kids, we complain is loud.
We lock ourselves inside our own little room,
For outside we see nothing but fear and our doom.

Why in our lives do we learn not to be so wild?
Why can we not keep the eyes and heart of a child?
Why can we not see in the clouds, a heart?
Why with our imagination do we have to part?
To be the knight, or the maiden once more,
To play a game of ball then not keep score.
To let ourselves go, to explore the depths of our mind,
To bring us full circle takes our children to find.

_Doug Logan
2016