SOLS #9: Days Long Gone
Days Long Gone
Growing up in today’s world
can’t be easy
with its immediate access.
When we can shout our thoughts
out to an audience
but we forget someone is watching.
I’ll take growing up
in the days long gone
when phones were attached
by cords
resting in the living room
near our parents’ ears.
In the days when
we had to wait until tomorrow
to tell our stories.
Saving us from letting words
slip before we had
chewed on them a bit.
In the days when
there were only 3 channels
in which to choose
and the shows we watched
made us want to be better
not worse.
Thankfully I grew up
in a time when
life was a little more
carefree because
it can't be easy
growing up in today's world.
*fist bump*
ReplyDeleteYou captured my thoughts from today!
Kathy, It does seem like days long gone, but they're still alive within many of us. If we continue to tell our stories, like you are doing now, hopefully they won't be forgotten. Love this! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteVal
I worry for my own boys growing up in this age. I really like this part:
ReplyDeleteSaving us from letting words
slip before we had
chewed on them a bit.
That's a lesson so many can use these days.
Cathy,
ReplyDeleteYou are such an inspiring writer, educator and person. What a wonderfully written poem. There seems to be so many things gone. Is it a good thing or bad?
One of the reasons I was so nervous about having kids!! The world has changed. So much to fear. But then love takes over, thank goodness. My favorite stanza:
ReplyDeleteIn the days when
we had to wait until tomorrow
to tell our stories.
Saving us from letting words
slip before we had
chewed on them a bit.
So true in all aspects - take away the cell phones, texting, twitter, facebook, etc. Unplug and let the words be chewed first.
I love this poem! The second stanza reminds me of how much easier it was for our parents to keep an 'ear' out for us, unlike today where privacy and publicity are both so accessible to kids. You had three channels? We only had two! :)
ReplyDeleteEvery bit is so thought provoking, but I really like this: "In the days when/we had to wait/ until tomorrow/to tell our stories./Saving us from letting words/slip before we had/chewed on them a bit. Thinking ahead instead of instant gratification of 'I'm just sayin'" is surely the nicer way. Thanks for this, both nostalgic & something to 'chew on'.
ReplyDeleteYou so capture that feeling of longing for the past and bring a concreteness to it, "when phones were attached
ReplyDeleteby cords" brings me right back to those day. Thank you for that feeling - I felt safe remember those days. You did it - elicited those feelings in your reader.
I love the line, "Saving us from letting words
slip before we had chewed on them a bit." So true, something I can't help but do anyway even with all our fast paced digital communication. It's so sad sometimes I'll even labor over a text or an email. Thank you for reminding us of the benefits of a simple life!
Bravo!
ReplyDeleteI do love the simple life yet also love the techy toys I get to use to make things easier. Kids - so many things they have to think about now that we didn't. Thanks for something for us to think about...
ReplyDeleteCathy, as always I so enjoy reading your writing. Sometimes when I stop and reflect on my kids' world compared to mine growing up, I wonder what it must be like to not know how you find your way in life without a smart phone. :) I'm glad that I grew up in the time I grew up in too. What's it going to be like for our grandchildren?
ReplyDeleteI was just talking to a friend about how I miss life before the Internet and cell phones. And I wonder what people did before TV.
ReplyDelete