Poetry in Motion: Bringing Back the Days of Old.

Days of Old

School’s out! But our learning didn’t just stop at 3’o clock on the dot,

It continued at home with the After School Specials that would deal with real life issues

And I’d need a few tissues watching ‘Taking Candy from Strangers” and the “AIDS” episodes.

I looked forward to watching them each week and then,

Going back to school to see if my friends had also tuned in.

I remember being up early on the weekend with my sisters and cousins;

No time for sleep, too much to do

Getting a great start watching Saturday morning cartoons

Chillin’ in the Living room with a big bowl of cereal and like 5 spoons…

We’d get it popping with weekends shows like School House Rock

Remember, “I am Just a Bill”, “Conjunction Junction, What’s Your Function?” and “Tick Tock, Clock”?

It helped us develop the very unique skills that we are now able to utilize today

After Soullll Trainnnn, popping and locking to the body rock sounds of the Jackson 5,

Sugar Hill Gang, Tina Marie and Rick James, we’d head outside to play

Don’t mind me.

I’m just remembering the days of old;

Those simpler times that broke the mold

of what it meant to have fun,

always on the run

No work and all play; outside all day, until street lights

We didn’t know it then, but games like Hop Scotch, Double Dutch and Street Ball;

Tag and Mother May I, or even Red Light/Green Light,

Were strategy builders showing us how to be leaders as well as team players

Going hard trying to articulate and win the game

Very competitive and so if we thought someone was cheating,

We’d argue the point that they touched you before you changed the light,

At times it would get so heated; we’d end up in a fight

But being adaptive and seeking the pure joy of friendship

We’d be able to figure it all out and in all fairness be right back at it again,

We were cool like that and knew that everything would be alright

I remember owning my first lemonade stand and

Having tag sales with old toys we didn’t want anymore

We’d dust then off, clean them up and have a table right outside our front door (with a sign)

The neighborhood kids would scrape up their change to get an etch-sketch for a $1, holla!

There is where we got our start into entrepreneurship; a place that made space for a new world to explore.

Remembering the essence of Summer, Summer, Summertime…the Fresh Prince said it best

At the park where everyone would meet, eat free lunch and then head to the pool to dive right in

But I couldn’t swim, and I wished a “movaluva” would try to push me in.

Cus, I was too cute, but, man oh man, it was hot as hell and wearing jellies a tanktop and fluorescent, pink pum pum shorts didn’t help until the cool eve breeze would kick in.

Penny Candy was actually a penny ya’ll;

Up at neighborhood candy store buying a dollars worth to share with all

Getting beef patties and a Cola Champagne at the Jamaican bakery

Then we’d head back to the park and Laffy Taffy while the boys played Basketball

I’d love to just go back in the day, and try to recreate such memories with my lil’ ones;

Cus’ at times it seems to me that all they see, is the Wii, PSP & X Box 360

Nobody wants to ride their bikes no more;

They rather virtually explore Facebook, and Tweet about being bored

Or surf YouTube about being ratchet; watching and imitating, contributing to the viral sensation

They’d rather watch music videos that talk about hoes and reality TV shows that make folks think they’re ‘ignant’ foes going toe to toe.

Let’s break the mold and

Rediscover the days as told and

Relive what it means to enjoy life all over again.

Call an old friend and just reminisce

If we could just bask in the innocence of our own experience as a young one…

When our possibilities were as bright as the sun.

Remembering the days of OLD…

Copyright 2011 ©  LaMara Hunter