Poem for today by Heather Montford

Arts Richmond

Online - 08 May 2020

Memories

We used to play outside when I was young.

On bicycles and roller skates, roads traffic free.

There was a war, food rationing and petrol none

And barking dogs our only enemy.

We knocked on doors “Can Joan come out to play?”

“You’ll need your coat and don’t be late for tea “

We crossed the road ran out of sight and calling distance.

Joan, Brenda, the Perry girls and me.

We played all day and no one bothered us.

Climbed trees, played hopscotch, handstands, made up games

Snowballing in winter, sledging on tin trays

In summer picked wild flowers, even learned their names.

There were no ipods, play stations, no mobile phones

No television, theme parks, outings a rarity

But we learned independence, self reliance, creativity

There was a war somewhere but we were free.

Heather Montford 

Heather is a retired medical doctor and now spends a lot of her time involved in charity organisations, painting, reading and writing poetry. She also enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.