It was the final night of the season and she knew that tomorrow she would be returning home. So, she snuck out of bed, to sit out on her balcony and gaze at the stars as they appeared one at a time or occasionally in clusters. She was happily lost in her own little world, savoring the last moments of summer, when she noticed what seemed like a swarm of fireflies, playfully flying over the crashing waves. Looking downward, she saw that a man had gathered a large pile of driftwood, dried reeds and rushes and was igniting it with a handheld Zippo lighter. As the dried rushes caught fire, the summer breezes fanned the flames until even the largest logs and planks were burning brightly. Occasionally, one of the bigger pieces of wood would fall, causing an explosion of sparks to be thrown high into the night air, where the wind was waiting to carry them out over the ocean waters.
As the bonfire grew in intensity, it illuminated a large sandcastle that the man had obviously been working on for a considerable time. Once he was satisfied that the bonfire was well established, he returned to finishing his edifice of sand. Now, most children are fascinated by bonfires, sandcastles and of course staying up late when one should be asleep and this combination of all three was proving near irresistible. Correction, make that irresistible. For a moment, she pondered obtaining parental permission to go down to look at this castle, but asking meant risking the most universal of adult replies, a stern and emphatically delivered, “No!” So, she decided to sneak out on her own. Carefully climbing over the balcony railing, she quietly crept down the stairs and across the beach to examine this wonderment close-up.
Childhood Dreams
(Erasmus)
LATE IN SUMMER
STARING OUT THE WINDOW
ONLY SEVEN
TELL ME WHAT COULD SHE KNOW
THE WORLD WOULD NEVER UNDERSTAND
BUT THEY DON’T SEE WHAT SHE STILL CAN
WHAT DOES SHE SEE
WHAT DOES SHE KNOW
AND MUST SHE EVER JUST LET GO
AS CHILDHOOD DREAMS
CHILDHOOD DREAMS
WHAT IS CHILDHOOD
SOMETHING WE REMEMBER
RARELY
BARELY
SOMETIMES IN DECEMBERS
BUT THEN IT’S KNOWN TO CATCH OUR EYE
AND DARE US ALL TO
ONCE MORE TRY
AND WITH A CHILDHOOD FAITH BELIEVE
AND THAT MAGIC TO RETRIEVE
AS CHILDHOOD DREAMS
CHILDHOOD DREAMS
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
DREAMS
SOFTLY
FADING
TELL ME WHERE THE YEARS GO
I AM AGING
BUT SHE DOES NOT THINK SO
HER WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES
AS FAR AS CHILDHOOD
EYES CAN SEE
AND MUST ONE DAY
SHE JUST DECIDE
TO STEP OFF OF THIS
CHILDHOOD RIDE
AS CHILDHOOD DREAMS
CHILDHOOD DREAMS
ONLY SEVEN AS SHE
SITS AND WONDERS
LATE AT NIGHT AS
THE WORLD IT SLUMBERS
BUT SUDDENLY INSIDE THE DARK
SHE SEES THE MAGIC
OF THE SPARKS
AND SO SHE KNOWS
SHE MUST GO DOWN
TO SEE THIS WORLD
THAT SHE HAS FOUND
AS CHILDHOOD DREAMS
CHILDHOOD DREAMS
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD
DREAMS
