by Theresa Lovelace
I sit at my
window, my mirror into then
And reminisce
on the innocence of those days when
Life was carefree
and filled with fun
Cheerful mages
Of us, the
young generation
On the
stoops of Monroe
Where we
gathered and played
Our private
offices
Where decisions
were made
Where
secrets were shared
Where
friendships blossomed
Where solutions
were found for all of our problems
Where we planned
our day of the games we’d play
Where the
ills of the world were so far away
There was a
kindred spirit there that we couldn’t see
An invisible
thread that would always be
Connected by
times in a different world
Bound by an
era in our own little world.
Growing up
on Monroe Street, our childhood home
Where everyone’s
mother was yours and
Every grandmother,
your own
Never a
shortage of what to do
Always
something different, always fresh and new
Roller
skating on the block
On Franklin
on Gates on Bedford
Then back
Back on the
block
Yes, we
rocked those blocks
Round and
round we’d go
Laughing and
giggling, not a care in the world
Rummaging
for soda caps with just the right slide
I am a
killer diller number one!
Said with a
feeling of pride
Chinese jump
rope
Feet
together, feet apart
Inside the
bands and out
A my name is
Alice and my husband’s name is Al
We come from
Alabama and we sell apples
We’re going to
Kentucky, we’re going to the fair
To see a
senorita with flowers in her hair
Last night
and the night before
Twenty four
robbers knocked at my door
Fire
hydrants spitting out splashes of cold wetness
Ever
competing with the sultry heat
Luring us to
its metal spout then
Chasing us
back onto the hot concrete
We giggled,
we laughed
Not a care
in the world
Handball on
the gates of the auto store
At that
time, it’s all that we kids lived for
Hollywood, 5th
Avenue, Big Time and Mars
Sugar Daddy,
Zero, Oh Henry and Clark
Candy bars that
reigned through these auspicious times
These times
an indelible part of our lives
Catholic
school ruled by the nuns
Feared them
true but still had fun
Nativity
School was the place to be
For eight
long years then BMcD
Fashion was
mostly a teenage affair
It was they
who sported the latest flair
The familiar
streets echoed the familiar tunes
Of the
Tempts, Supremes and others who crooned
The
Delfonics, the Whatnauts, the Moments, the Fuzz
All those
contributed to that soulful buzz
On the
street, in the house forever our hearts
Stuck in our
minds, we knew every part
Block
parties, bus rides, the play streets were king
What can
replace all these memorable things?
For these
were the times when our spirits ran free
These were
the times that shaped destinies
Laughing, giggling
Not a care
in the world, not a care in the world
Now, I sit
at my window, my mirror into then
And reminisce
on the innocence of those days when...
Copyright 2013
