CHILDHOOD MEMORIES IN BLACK AND WHITE

This old black and white photo
has ignited my imagination,
to thoughts racing,
of island children, home grown,
and temporarily transplanted,
to Summer seasons long ago.

There they sit, unaware they have taken root
in the rich field of Time that will grow
the most cherished memories of childhood.
a moment in time,
captured forever to hold,
to study, to recall.

Even in black and white,
I feel the special wonders
of this island playground.
Boundaries clearly marked,
by periphery of sea,
surely didn’t stunt imagination.
On the contrary,
it enhanced,
tickled, encouraged and nurtured
fertile young minds, I am sure.

Oh, what a glorious treasure of memory
those children must have stored!
For, even I,
born landlocked,
now in the Autumn of my years,
“feel” and “recall” their childhood days.

Even though they are not my memories,
I have received them second hand,
and now,
immersed in full color of remembrance,
I, too, am an island child,
captured in a moment in Time.

R.A. Szostek