INNOCENCE OF CHILDHOOD

Picture Courtesy www.lifeunwinded.blogspot.com


The playground,
An Entire world,
Ethnicity and colour
Had no meaning here.


Times when
A promise meant two
Pinkies nodding in agreement,
Formal documentation
Were pinky promises.


Grudges arose by the second
Yet they went away
By half of a second,
Oh how innocent.


Times when
Lunchboxes were prized
Assets,
Contents boasting all one could
Ask for in a world.


Colouring books crayons
And pencils were perfect
Reasons for infantile crushes and
Misplaced heartbeats.


Those were the times when one
Got elected president without
Even having to grasp the
Queen’s language in its entirety,
New shoes and toys worked better than
Posters and campaign slogans.


Sadly,
We had to grow,
Trading our innocence at the stock
Markets of life for diseases such
Selfishness and greed all in the
Name of success and ambition.


Gone are days when
We were all friends because we
Played in a sandbox and run after butterflies.


Gone are days when we
Walked between darkness and daylight
Without having to plead our innocence.


Gone are days when toffees
Were spoken language and
The art of picking one’s nose
Was an acceptable way of life.


Today,
And everyday,
For the rest of our lives,
Forever,
We plead innocence
For we’ve forgotten the true
Meaning of innocence,
Only childhood understands innocence.