In today’s blog, we have 18 short poems we would like to share with you. Each poem will be in the first person of a child or adult looking back on their childhood, or experiencing life as a child in a certain era, ranging from the 15th century to today!
Enjoy reading them, you may even feel some nostalgia of your own!
1.
It was the best
It was the worst
Empire records and VHS
Let’s watch Aladdin this weekend?
OMG Pop tarts again for breakfast again!
Wow we love sugar, isn’t it sweet?
Hey Abby, you’re totally my best friend foreverrr
Tamagotchis and Furby’s
Both cute, if you’re deserving
Girl talk before bedtime
Don’t you remember?
Back home in Dad’s car
The Ford Taurus, where we did the macarena?
That dial up ring tone was the next thing I heard
When am I gonna get a Nokia phone like everyone else?
10p for a text, will I learn to save?
Reading goosebumps in bed with a torch was sooo brave
It was the best
It was the worst
I still gotta finish making that mixtape before it’s too late
2.
A chain of whispers we pass
My hands, clasped
A watchful glance, our faces painted merry
Soon, my fingers dance, strings that sing
Amusement I bring
Here vanity and content, equal
All day I follow, my true belonging brings sorrow
I’ve been told to watch my tongue
A jest, then rest
I give more, in return for less
To speak when spoken to
I linger unbeknownst to when I am due
3.
A ring to match
Scraps, always scraps
Skin meets bone
To always talk of a wishful loan
Be made a mockery of for my speech
A pocket to beg from
But he asks to be put to rest
I can tell by the sorrow that takes his face
Outside there’s panic
A sickness passed through familiars
Pottage, grain
Drained and lame, posies strained
Sore skin meets brittle bones
Ashes, more ashes, to fall to the ground
We said goodbye to my siblings at the weekend
4.
“You look golden!” Momma cried, as I twirled around in her rectangle shaped gown
“Can I try on your red?” I sighed
After supper, was the only reply
Daddy comes home and I weep, “I missed you, I missed you” then one kiss on the cheek
“Oh sweetheart,” he says “don’t you look mellow”
He looks to James, he’s meek. “Hello young fellow!” Daddy shrieks
James turns to me, his red fingertips ringed with black like soot.
“It’s my turn to listen to the show”, as he took the headphones from me, irritable, he looks.
All sat together, it’s story time
Momma and Daddy holding hands
“You can try on the red now, Betty Ann”
Delighted I sat in front of the glass
Life’s mighty fine in this land
5.
Rich nor poor
Still gifts they bore
Caressed and cherished daily
To work on the tracks
Was the most important act
A ‘man’ must always remain intact
Times are quickly changing
6.
A certain name haunts the streets
Carried by mouths, profanities they speak
Told to keep our distance
A dark dread lurks yonder the hills
Harvest awaits, great moans heard that the cattle won’t wake
A finger pointed towards the dark
A small frame, a kindred heart
A guide she was down the path
Misfortune struck thrice
Cattle lie like ice
Pa whispers a hex, she says, he says
The kindred heart, she lost her soul
Saw no more of her hollow frame
The cunning lost, her visitors dropped
Days grow old, just like stories once told
Sent away, but we shall stay
The name once carried, now true
Dragged and bound
Eyes taut and round
She lived not another day
7.
Call it what you like…..
Although it now seems
like a lifetime ago
The fondness I feel
And the memories that grow
Born then and not now
still plenty (yet) to do
There were Tupperware parties
and trips to the zoo
Decimalisation, had only kicked off
There was Glam Rock
Weird clothing
Like sandals with socks!
Ra-ra skirts, Jubilee
Parties in streets
Pyramid sales
and rare sweet treats
Starting at school
Then walking alone
Being all fancy
Like having a house phone
Wait…There’s more!
8.
Then boom, off to big school
Well, I went away
Missing my family
and having to stay
Bright colours of clothes
Music bizarre
on Top Of The Pops
watching boys from a-far
Feeling so grown-up
yet only a child
Homework and dating
Like being re-styled
So many fond memories
now shared more and more
both then but now
It feels like folklore!
9.
Thick as thieves they called us
They didn’t like it, the well off
You could tell from their eyes
The way they moved to the side
When I was smaller, unaware
Fair and dark had met at night
Whisper tips and exchange rights
I was taught in order to write
Ran from rich to be in poor
Friends here, rivals no more
Little mulattoes lived here, but sure
I watch and listen, too junior to join
To prove our pride
At times we hide
To start but still to grow
10.
Through thick and thin was the words we’d all sing
In tune to the melodic sound coming from the west wing
Smoke lingered in the air, in fact in every room
Was there ever a time where that wasn’t a thing?
Numbers drawn on the floor
and the sound of a 1,2,3!
I was in the sky as the thick rope swung under me
Coming and going, to’ing and fro’ing
We’d smile happily and say “CHEESE!”
A piece of string but no key, “Hey, let me in please!”
Life was sweet, much like what we love to eat
All so dusty and familiar
Just like a tick-tock clock
And much like the queue formed on Wednesday afternoons
One by one a comb would run
Through thin and thick hair
One would say that’s quite a routine
Just like the waves from the sea, washes over my feet
My knitted swimsuit is pretty neat!
Through thick and thin was the words we’d all sing
ooh, I can’t wait to play run outs next week!
11.
Grown into a digital age
We prance around singing our favourite sounds
Watching moving pictures
Embarrassed to show
“You better not be watching anything weird you know”
I wish I looked like her
She wishes she was me
Moana and Elsa
To be a princess was the dream
I’m not scared of you however much it seems
12.
Remember a time when you felt alive?
Not just physical existence, but you could really feel your soul within?
That time is now, and here we feel free
Free as in it’s time to change things
Free as in we need to protest on the street
Gone are the times of tradition
Today is our liberation
To be free is to be equal and to be equal is to be free
Give peace a chance, follow the waves in your hair
Wear the skirt above your knees
Run and jump, let’s be seen.
Fly high like a kite, experience things you’ve never seen
The free times are fun and fun times makes you free
These new shapes and colours change me
To be free is to be equal and to be equal is to be free
13.
Dancing in the living room
Reach for the stars
You can’t touch the floor
Down there are sharks!
Next thing you’re quiet
All eyes on you
“You must put your hand up if you want to go to the loo”
Practicing handwriting
Twiddling our thumbs
Running through the wood chipped floor
Plimsolls to wear if you want fun
Learning to share
Make sure you always brush your hair
Can I have two bedtime stories?
If you stop being glum
Barbie’s and Ken dolls
For lunch, cheesy bread rolls
I can’t wait till I’m an adult!
Well, don’t you now sound dumb?
14.
Spin the dial
One, two, three
Four, five, six, seven..?
I’ve lost count
I think I reached eleven?
Bell bottoms, paisley shirt
Quickly faded from glory
The motto was, always save, save, save
But remember to pick a side
Idealist or degenerate?
I don’t know sir
I suppose whatever is relevant…
Pink Floyd and a small TV
That’s all we need apparently
Less is more
More can get you less
Life is hard
We live life just to drive fast cars
Hey, you got a plan?
“You’re going to be an astronaut someday”
Well, I know I’m not
You dig man?
Yes and No
What’s right, what’s wrong
Some voices are unheard
Be there or be square
Spin the dial
One, two, three
Life is all right
Life is pretty bad
15.
Sirens echo through the night
As I lay in my bed shivering with fright
Echoes and bellows from up above
I clutch my ears and shout for help
But no-one answers
No-one comes
It seems like forever, it seems so long
I weep and I weep, still no-one has come
My ears overwhelmed with a ringing sensation
It seems as if it’s the final destination
It is dark, it is drab
Black dots paint the sky
My eyes fully awake
Can reality be a dreaming state?
I’m waiting and waiting
It seems like forever, it seems so long
Because no-one has answered
No-one has come
16.
Sunday. A day of rest pa always said
Signed so by the cross formed on a babes head
Dressed in my best, a frown formed on my head, “you look just like your pa” ma sighs, as we reached the crest.
Constipation follows congregation
We wait
A trickle runs down my leg
Evening sets, pa can’t rest, excited was a word he says
“The vote” he screams, over a feast of grain and bread, “I now get the chance”
It was then time for bed
There are fees to be paid pa says
Eton shall remain our main stead
Soon I trudge the path I always take. Through the black, sticky mass, where the rats run, irate
Numbers, letters, a frequent task, I sit there, shroud, surrounded by larks. “Come and join us!” the older boys ask.
Time to play in the muddied grass
“A game of rugby bill?”
I don’t pass
It ended with a sore head and arse.
17.
One foot in front of the other
Pulling my hat down over my head
“Hold onto your bag now”
A voice behind me said
It’s busy, it’s bustling
Unfamiliar sounds don the room
Lined up in front of a large engine
A sharp whistle pierces through my ears
Why do we have to be here again?
Unsure what to think
Unsure what to feel
A kiss on the head
My arms held tight
“It won’t be long”
“I promise my sweet son”
Papers thrust in hand
I can’t read big words
Tears filled my eyes
A kind man spots me
His eyes very stern
“Hop on young man”
“You’ll be just fine”
Perched by the window
A sweet smile
It felt like miles
Several whistles later
The sweet smile changed
I stared
And in return
A sincere glare
And in seconds
She was gone
Dark, pitch black
A mumbled sound
Never to remember
Until it’s the round
18.
A steady beat
Healthy
Not weak
A quick little peek
We wait
Long weeks
It’s time
Ready
Steady
Here
Awake
It’s bright
Held ever so tight
Welcome to the world
Apple of my eye
Written by Rhianna Selkridge-Carty
Well, you’ve reached the end. If you’ve gotten this far, we’re certain you’re curious enough to read about the various and unfortunate ways we can all reach ‘the end’, A-Z style…
