Goodbye Never Land

Do you remember Never Land?
Of course, I thought you might.
We played there endless days
And slept there countless nights.

It was such a happy place to be
I never knew "depressed".
My days spent in Never Land
Surely were the best.

The term "responsibility"
I'd never even heard.
We'd laugh and sing and play all day
"Fun" was the golden word.

Do you remember fighting pirates?
Oh, the chances that we took!
Remember Peter Pan was best
At thwarting Captain Hook.

Remember how sweet Tinkerbell
Taught us how to fly?
You could fly beyond the rainbows
And never touch the sky.

Until one day in jest
I flew behind a cloud
I wanted to discover
Why that was not allowed.

It only took a moment
It wasn't very long.
I turned around to brag to you . . .
But Never Land was gone.

And then before I knew it
My life had turned around.
My search for all the childhood fun
Was nowhere to be found.

I learned responsibility
And other adult things,
Like chasing after rainbows
Are children's silly dreams.

I learned about economy,
And politics, and God,
And survival in the world today -
A child, I was not.

I learned upward mobility
Being number one is best
How to walk on others
Put competition to the test.

As the days grow older
Decisions must be made.
Where was my life going?
What paths must I take?

As I sat and pondered
Where in this world I stand
My thoughts began to wander
Back to Never Never Land.

How quickly I'd forgotten
About that joyous time
When crisis was unheard of
And happiness was mine.

I closed my eyes and smiled.
I was going back again,
To my childhood fantasy
My Never Never Land!

At first it was all blurry
Well, it had been so many years.
Was it due to faded memory
Or melancholy tears?

I went to all the places
Where we loved to play.
The skies back then were blue and clear
Now why have they turned grey?

I heard no child's laughter.
No games were going on.
The land was long deserted.
Everyone was gone.

I traveled on still further
To the ocean and the sand.
I found an old man sitting there
A bottle in his hand.

I had to rub my eyes
And take another look.
Sure enough, I wasn't wrong.
It was old Captain Hook.

He said his pirating days were over
As he gazed across the sea.
"There just ain't nobody here no more,
To keep me company."

I asked about our leader
That boy called Peter Pan.
He shook his head and sighed,
"Oh, he grew into a man."

We sat awhile in silence
There was nothing more to say.
He handed me his bottle
As he turned and walked away.

My heart and mind felt empty
As I hung my head and cried.
I had to face the truth that day
My innocence had died.

Well, thank you Captain Hook
For this bottle in my hand
I raise it to my lips and drink
A toast to Never Land.


Ah, so you got to the end. Thank you!