I Wish to Come Back

(childhood ends one day)

Little happy caterpillar on the stem

and ladybugs on the glorious

China rose petals 

climbing all the way to the terrace

that burst vigorous scent

in the morning.

Mom was sitting on the bench.

weaving her magic into tiny knots

of a very new crispy-white doily 

while chatting with the next-door neighbors. 

They shared small daily worries; 

what happened or what did not

here and there…

Mom was entwining with her hands

one talk into one knot and then

into another; and again, 

one talk into one knot and another… 

Repeating all to the end.

In the early evening, 

a happy bunch of noisy kids

used to gather jumping through a rope.

We played ball, hide-and-seek,

or chased fireflies in the worm summer nights.

Later on, all fathers one after another

whistled to us to come home. Yap! 

We used to call it “Our fathers’ midnight serenâda”

we were the kids; they were the adults. So…

There was no internet, no cell phones,

only a simple joyful dinner in front

of a black-and-white TV.

Mom used to sing. Dad used to set

his bike for the next day 

right in the corner, close to the door.

He always argued about something 

that was said in the latest news report. 

I went to sleep dreaming 

to grow and become an adult

with no play-time restrictions.

Back then, this was my happy and simple childhood.

I did not feel how my dream came true,

And the careless days came to the end.

Now, here I am...an adult

and a mail-man with bills takes his part.

So, when I go to sleep every night, 

I wish to come back to this careless time

and never to grow up. Fact!

Oh, my childhood friends, back me up!

Who will argue with me? C’est la vie!

By Petrouchka Alexieva

From: United States