My Halcyon Childhood

Our childhood friends
Mark, Bobby, and Brian
We played all day
Running around
The neighborhood
Every day
Was an adventure
We used
Our imagination
We had joy
From simple things
We were active
All the time
In the summer
We stayed out till
The street lights
Came on
We went swimming
At the Brentwood pool
We got snow cones
Rope licorice
Push-up pops
And popcorn
In winter
We reveled in the snow
Going sled riding
Building snowmen
Making angels
In the snow
We had many a snowball
Fight
And Christmas was
A truly special
Time of the year
We always had
A fresh huge
Christmas tree
We helped decorate
Our tree
Colored blinking lights
Christmas morning
We beheld
A mountain of
Wrapped gifts
We had baked ham
On paska bread
With horseradish
And the succulent
Fresh kielbasa
For Spring
The flowers were in
Full bloom
Green lush grass
Soon appeared
Trees got
Leaves again
We looked forward
To Easter
On Easter morning
We searched for our
Easter baskets
It was thrilling
We got so much
Tasty candy
We went to church
Around noon
At the Community
Of The Crucified One
We loved hearing
Uncle Eddie’s sermon
He was our uncle
Spiritually
Everyone
Called him that
In Autumn
We went shopping
For new shoes
And clothes for school
It was so much fun
We also got a book bag
Folders, lead pencils
An eraser, pens
And a calculator
I loved walking outside
In the early morning
As a cold rain fell
I exhaled
And saw my breath
Linger in the air
The colored leaves
Were so beautiful
Next came Thanksgiving
We had a huge turkey
Stuffing
Mushroom gravy
Craberry gel
Whole cranberries
Brussel sprouts
Green beans
Sweet potatoes
With brown sugar
And marshmallows
Mashed potatoes
Pierogies
My childhood
It is precious to me
I have so many
Happy memories

by Zachary Uram
(C) 2025