In this poem I look at the theme of change and how it gradually evolves over time until you realise you live in a very different world to the one you grew up in. I’ve titled it Country Of History Books. I hope you enjoy the read .
Country Of The History Books
As the morning skies
peer through bedroom windows
many féel the urge
to stay warm and safe
take five minutes before rising
to meet the challenges
the day will bring
The birds stopped singing
before you awoke from the sleep
and the dreams you can’t remember as you munch in to your corn flakes
you see a honey monster
imploring you to buy sugar puffs
the next time you do the weekly shop
Now with make up on
you feel ready to face the world
and make the most of the day
you’ve been given as a gift
as you wait for the bus
which forgets to arrive
the radio is playing staying alive
and you travel back in time
to the days of Star Wars and Saturday Night Fever
when you were the teenager
with dreams you couldn’t share with boys
You wore a mask
not out of choice but of necessity
in the days when parades had no rainbows
and colours were uniforms of hate
as a country slept
stubbornly refusing to wake up to need for change.
Of course it happened anyway
it always does
evolving over time in ways that go unnoticed
until you look back and find the country you once knew
in history books and TV documentaries
and are content to leave it there
getting on with the challenges
the day will provide for you to solve
not to mention the risks
some of which you might even enjoy
taking a chance on
remembering that was how you coped
growing up in the scheme
meanwhile you board the bus
to travel to destinations
you could have never imagined reaching
in the land of your teenage years
contented you leave the fears
you once knew
for others to view and future generations to see
on TV and in academic texts
as you leave behind
the country of the history books
© Gayle Smith 2021
Skirtingroundmylife 