Far-Off Days Poem by Paul Reed

It seemed as if there were no cares
In those far-off days,
No sense of passing years,
Everyone had always been there
And was going to live forever;

What was life anyway?
Who needed a beginning and an end?
This was just the middle
That stretched to infinity
And had no boundaries
Of age or time;

Adolescence a mere irritation
A mere joining of the other older boys
As men,
But still boys inside
With secrets and comics and toys
Safe homes away from the world;

Then innocence ended with death
Unannounced and unexpected
Sharp, abrupt, shocking
Despairing,
Hope became hopelessness
And the struggle began;

Ever since to recreate
To relive those joyous days
To find our own separate loves
Although nothing would ever be the same
Never as a boy again
In those far-off days.