I have a picture on my wall
That shows me as a boy of two;
I’d like to swap my worries now
For those of then, and wouldn’t you?
I have to stop and just admire
The daraling, ducky way I dressed,
In starcy little cunning things
That daddy bought, and mother pressed.
Through quite no effort of my own,
My hair was combed–my hands were cleaned;
And trouble couldn’t reach me then,
For someone always intervened.
Just sit and play, and play and sit;
No thing to do but just relax.
No war to fight; no work to do:
And, best of all, no income tax.
No headache then, no nerves, no rush;
No children of our own to tend–
What did I ever do to make
A situation like this end?
All our aims are much the same:
To have us riches, leave our fears.
And these, I say, I had when I
Was slightly damp behind the ears!
A little wish, O Providence,
Grant to this dreamer. If you can,
THen make me once again a kid
So I can wish I were a MAN!
by Ray Romine Saturday, March 18, 1944
