Growing Pains

I have been a pilot and a doctor, and a chieftain, I've run a café and a veg stall and a shop

Discovered forests down the road, and caught a magic toad, and stormed the castle high upon the mountains top

I've walked about on Mars, flown a rocket to the stars, and been to places that are yet unknown to men

And just to cap it all, to amaze you, and enthral, I did all that before I was even ten



There are no boundaries for young minds, no comprehension of time, they are eager to explore this fun-filled place

Kids are free and are unshackled, from the first shake of their rattle, they refuse to run with rats in our sad race

I grew up with simple toys, simple pleasures, simple joys, yet life was then so full and so untouched

Not ashamed of mummy's hand, or a bucket in the sand, we had so little yet, we really had so much



We grazed our knees and ruined our clothes, raced around on tippy-toes, and turned a mangy dog into our bestest friend

We camped out, we camped in, went too high upon the swing, yet we never thought the fun would ever end

Daddy's voice was law, mummy's whack was sore, and being grounded was so harsh and was so tough

But we knew that we were safe, and we knew we were secure, and we really knew our home was full of love



Children were children and grown ups were grown ups, and teenagers were somewhere in between

Bad things were small, like the punctured old beach ball, or the sadness of a melted ice-cream

Park-keepers were alert, and everything actually worked, and if we hurt ourselves, mum didn't want to sue

She would kiss it where it was sore, cuddle us some more, then we'd be off and start our climbing up anew



A boy's first kiss was his mum, and love was bubble-gum, and his first crush was simply lemon or lime

Girls were chased but never kissed, cause you deliberately missed, and names could only hurt you if they rhymed

Little girls dressed in mum's shoes, and didn't get the blues, and they'd only dance in front of cuddly toys

They loved dolls and Winnie-Pooh, playing bubbles with shampoo, and they had no time for silly things like boys



Batman was always kind, and it would never cross his mind, to kill a villain, or ever break the law

You'd always be polite, always kiss your mum goodnight, and you'd always leave your cabbage for the poor

To be gay was to be glad, being bad meant simply bad, and there was no such thing as being overfed

Phones were just pretend, and your dog was your best friend, to protect you from the troll under your bed



But this world is ever changing, with more stress and much more danger, and the children must adapt or they will fail

Where once our kids were shy, and pleasing to the eye, we are now forced to grab a tiger by the tail

Like the trickle of the stone, before the mountain crashes down, life is gaining speed at an alarming rate

They are pushed and are in pain, carry guilt and carry blame, and there is no one to shield them from their fate



Home alone, and alone away, taught how to text but not to play, they just exist within their messed up little world

Forced to survive and take the knocks, always governed by the clock, too soon they are men and women, not boys and girls

Good and bad are now retired, you can do what you desire, it's no longer sin, but a life choice for childrenkind

And if there's a price to pay for this new fun, and for looking at the sun, there's always credit, which is far off (in their mind)



Goblins and trolls have become vampires and ghouls, and Batman is a nasty growling man

The train set is no longer cool, it's trains and stations are for fools, Playstation is now the thing that makes the man

Advice comes from the web, or magazines instead, because these sources have all the answers we need to know

Goodbye to picnics, sandcastles, parks, finger-puppets in the dark, these simple joys our children now let go



Today the little ones know too much, and their knowledge is that such, they are aware of all that mum and dad now do

The facts of life, thanks to the web, terrorism's dread, HIV, carcinomas and Avian Flu

Immersed in the occult, and books that teach how to insult, they spend more time with gadgets than they do with humankind

The things they watch would scare grown-ups, the door to innocence is shut, while their music feeds the anger of the mind



“No” is spoken, never heard, simple manners never learned, “Love thy neighbour” is replaced by “dog eat dog”

But they are children, not our pets, they need to love, and not regret, and they need to find the time to think of God

Like arrows that are aimed, we can steer them through life's game, to ensure they find the target that they need

That of happiness and hope, take their hand, don't let them grope, and we may yet behold the day when they are free



So enjoy their childhood years, feed the ducks, and not their fears, and if they've gone too far, help them to rewind

Let them skip, let them skate, let them even lick their plate, and the memories will be forever in your mind

And before you do regret, and your little ones forget, and this life comes and sweeps them from your door

Give them back their childish ways, and keep the world at bay, and let the children just be children once more