Many Years Into Yesterday
On the banks of the Mississippi,
we fished for catfish
with a bent pin on a string.
We sat in ragged trousers
patched and tied at the waist with string.
We watched the paddle steamers gorged with passengers
waving as they passed our way.
In those summer days of our childhood
many years into yesterday.
With innocent eyes,
we watched the world turn.
Saw the sadness in our daddy’s eyes,
watched the sweat run over his ebony muscles,
and heard him cry in our mammy’s arms
when a day’s work was done.
We saw the boss man whip him
under a blazing sun.
Saw the scars on indignation across his back
and heard the mournful songs they sang
at the closing of the day
in the summer of our childhood
many years into yesterday.
Then the world turned harsh and bitter.
At sixteen, they stole your virginity
and they also stole my soul.
Worked us like cattle
from sunrise until sundown.
Tried to break our spirit
and drive us deep into the ground.
The paddle steamers still chugged
through the muddy waters
as they did in those summer days of our childhood
many years into yesterday.
With manhood and womanhood reached,
we were sold on cattle market day.
New masters were found
and we were used as breeding stock
as our daddy and mammy were
in those summer days of our childhood
many years into yesterday.
My scars of indignation
are burnt deep within my soul
that they made a rebel out of me.
In silence, you will mourn your brother
now hanging from a tree,
and always remember our times together
in those summer days of our childhood
many years into yesterday.
13-14 March 2009
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
My Childhood Faded Away
My childhood has faded away
In those days I had no bills to pay.
I close my eyes and remember those days.
Childhood dreams filled with love,
Hide and seek, my baseball glove,
No heavy chains,
Warm summer rains.
Fiery dragons, flying high in the sky,
Pirate ships, Captain Bligh.
Munching sweet apples,
Candy peppermint,
Rosy red cheeks,
Innocense.
Long ago, not by chance,
Under my bed, monsters danced.
Through the years a backward glance,
Wishing I had my bell bottom pants.
Eyes so bright,
Flying a kite,
Birds singing cheeful songs.
Quiet days, star filled nights,
Winter snow, on frozen lawns.
I wish that I was back today,
But I've put that life far away,
My childhood moments that I recall,
Childhood years, were the best of all.
poem by Philip Lore
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Childhood Faded Away
Childhood Faded away,
to a far away land,
simple, so simple were we,
Days of Play,
Going our Way,
Having fun, no care,
for another day,
time for us stood still,
playing king of the hill
Childhood Faded away
thinking of another day,
summer time was fine,
when friends were kind,
swiming holes were filled,
our hearts were thrilled
Childhood Faded Away
to a time that makes me sway
many years have passed away,
since childhood faded to another day,
Childhood Faded to places,
UNKNOWN TO US
floating somewhere in time.
wrote 1-15-07
Yesterday
(Keith UrbanG M Holden)
I remember as a kid wishin' I was seventeen
No more school, my own car.
back then it was all a dream
Then came the day to say goodbye to the room that was once mine
One last look at my old world then
I closed the door behind, to
CHORUS:
Yesterday, everything was easy
Livin' life like there was no tomorrow
Now everyday memories still remind me
How good things used to be yesterday
Well thirty-five soon rolled around
and everything had changed
I could count friends on one hand and
the good times weren't the same
But finally I cam to understand why people say
Don't spend all your childhood wishin'
the best years away
Now I'm longin' for the freedom
REPEAT CHORUS
That I let slip away
I took it all for granted
REPEAT CHORUS 2x
Now it's gone like yesterday
Remembering all those years, yesterday
song performed by by Keith Urban
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Good Ole Days
Oh, the good ole days,
why can't this day be,
the good ole days
thinking of those days,
long ago, when old age,
was on the horizon,
childhood just a step behind,
yesterday just a memory,
childhood memories when,
oh, so carefree
today the present,
will be those good ole days,
when old age is upon us
we once again wished we
were back in time and,
oh so care free.
wrote 12-31-06
Yesterday, When I Was Mad
Yesterday (yesterday yesterday)
Yesterday (yesterday yesterday)
Yesterday (yesterday yesterday) when i was mad
Yesterday (yesterday yesterday) when i was mad
Darling, you were wonderful, you really were quite good
I enjoyed it, though, of course, no one understood
A word of what was going on, they didn't have a clue
They couldn't understand your sense of humour like i do
You're much too kind
I smiled with murder on my mind
Yesterday, when i was mad
And quite prepared to give up everything
Admitting, i don't believe
In anyone's sincerity, and that's what's really got to me
Yesterday (yesterday yesterday)
Yesterday (yesterday yesterday) when i was mad
song performed by by Pet Shop Boys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Old Days
Old days
Good times I remember
Fun days
Filled with simple pleasures
Drive-in movies
Comic books and blue jeans
Howdy doody
Baseball cards and birthdays
Take me back
To a world gone away
Memories
Seem like yesterday
Old days
Good times I remember
Gold days
Days Ill always treasure
Funny faces
Full of love and laughter
Funny places
Summer nights and streetcars
Take me back
To a world gone away
Boyhood memories
Seem like yesterday
Old days - in my mind and in my heart to stay
Old days - darkened dreams of good times gone away
Old days - days of love and feeling fancy free
Old days - days of magic still so close to me
Old days - in my mind and in my heart to stay
Old days - darkened dreams of good times gone away
Old days - days of love and feeling fancy free
Old days - days of magic still so close to me
song performed by by Chicago
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Double E
Back in the country, living on the Double E
In the sunshine of her life
There's already a young fellow but Mom and Daddy won't let her leave
Mom and Poppa won't let her go
But when they go out dancin'
She breaks out on her own
She's hot enough to burn the house down
But Mom and Poppa don't know
When Edith and Earl renamed the Double E
They nearly made history
The locals rose up, some of them were mad as hell
Cause it used to be the Double L
Change comes slow in the country
When you're new there's a lot of distrust
Years fly by uneventful
Memories turn to dust
Meanwhile Granny has got her bright colors on
And the sun's shinin' in her eyes
Cruisin' by the bars and honky-tonks where she met Grandpa
And caught that young man's eye
Dusty white El Dorado
Cruisin' through the trees
Slippin' through the shadows
Of what used to be
Back in the days, living in the summer of love
Living in the summer of love
Grandma's okay, not the same since Grandpa's gone
She's living in the summer of love
Back in the days, living in the summer of love
Living in the summer of love
Living in the summer of love
Living in the summer of love
Back in the days, living in the summer of love
Living in the summer of love
song performed by by Neil Young
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Little Seeds
The little seeds that were planted
within our childhood spring
make us what we are today
and sometimes make our words sing.
The little seeds that germinated
as years passed and we grew
while in our youth they budded
before our experiences made them flower.
The little seeds of our childhood spring
that blossomed in our adult summer
to radiate even more brightly
in our autumn years.
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Those layered Cakes
yesterday i passed by
my childhood stall by the road;
what an experience it was!
that woman in her 30s i used to see,
now only her creased forehead and face
to add another dimension between us.
how sweet her layered little squarish
suntan cakes still tasted;
those layers that i peeled off
piece by piece to savour their charms.
and as i peeled the women gave me
that more mature and
deeply heartstirring smile
that tore through the distance
between us as if each layer i had peeled carried a story of her own life.
those years of experiences
now seen in phases,
like the layers of her cake.
the child in me leapt up again.
i left behind what
have separated us
to present the innocent smile
we used to give each other.
momentarily we lived
those days when i was a child
and she a young woman.
those childhood years
when we saw people as what they were.
those childhood years
when our smiles, love
were a fountain spring of ourselves
until the days when growing up
added different shades
of feelings and thoughts
to our relationships.
i hate the layer
those creases and wrinkles
laid in me.
i prefer to see them
as a child
where she would probably be
the wise woman in some cartoon film.
how those cakes would never
be the same again.
how i loved those pink and white layers,
the pink and white that had always
carried a fairy tale behind them.
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Author's Early Life
I will write a sketch of my early life,
It will be of childhood day,
And all who chance to read it,
No criticism, pray.
My childhood days were happy,
And it fills my heart with woe,
To muse o'er the days that have passed by
And the scenes of long ago.
In the days of my early childhood,
Kent county was quite wild,
Especially the towns I lived in
When I was a little child.
I will not speak of my birthplace,
For if you will only look
O'er the little poem, My Childhood Days,
That is in this little book.
I am not ashamed of my birthright,
Though it was of poor estate,
Many a poor person in our land
Has risen to be great.
My parents were poor, I know, kind friends,
But that is no disgrace;
They were honorable and respected
Throughout my native place.
My mother was an invalid,
And was for many a year,
And I being the eldest daughter
Her life I had to cheer.
I had two little sisters,
And a brother which made three,
And dear mother being sickly,
Their care it fell on me.
My parents moved to Algoma
Near twenty-three years ago,
And bought one hundred acres of land,
That's a good sized farm you know.
It was then a wilderness,
With tall forest trees abound,
And it was four miles from a village,
Or any other town.
And it was two miles from a schoolhouse,
That's the distance I had to go,
And how many times I traveled
Through summer suns and winter snow.
How well do I remember
Going to school many a morn,
Both in summer and in winter,
Through many a heavy storm.
My heart was gay and happy,
This was ever in my mind,
There is better times a coming,
And I hope some day to find
Myself capable of composing.
It was by heart's delight,
To compose on a sentimental subject
If it came in my mind just right.
If I went to school half the time,
It was all that I could do;
It seems very strange to me sometimes,
And it may seem strange to you.
It was natural for me to compose,
And put words into rhyme,
And the success of my first work
Is this little song book of mine.
My childhood days have passed and gone,
And it fills my heart with pain
To think that youth will nevermore
Return to me again.
And now kind friends, what I have wrote,
I hope you will pass o'er,
And not criticise as some have done,
Hitherto herebefore.
poem by Julia A Moore
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Summertime
I recall the summers of yesterday
The thought of them somehow won't go away
The laughter, the play, and the sunny days
The people, the places, all the joy too
I recall the moments and I remember you
Better days, I pray should come
Yet the days before was a lot of fun
I still smile about summers of yesterday
May those fond memories linger forever
In a variety of ways
I love those summer days
poem by Angel A. Lockwood
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Summer Days of Yesteryear
We often live surveying the past
as a summer season comes around,
and selecting the days of living freely
in our memory will be found.
We scrutinize the events of other Summers
experiencing great pleasure and delight
that once we knew when we were just
youngsters when life seemed to be all right.
Through the fading days of yesteryear
we filled our life with many dreams.
From childhood days to adulthood days
it was just a natural step it seems.
We miss the thrills that once was ours
the days we felt were always free.
We live it over each Summer time
and always remains a pleasant memory.
Too swiftly is the flight of time,
Though plentiful be the exuberant ways
that lead us down memory lane
to the scenes of other Summer days.
Though another Summer season shall end,
One wish for all of you we hold
May Summer always bring an abundance
of joy and memories a hundred fold.
poem by Joseph T. Renaldi
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Under The Summer Rain
Drops rippling
In the lake where we were raised,
In the place where we met each other
Under the summer rain
Thunder cracks
Lightning threatens
Shadows on the dock, silenced
Calm, listening
To the summer rain
A splash in the distance
All of us wondering what emerged
Through the summer rain
The woods where we play empty
Heeding directions we’ve heard all these years
Under the summer rain
The time goes by so fast
Wasn’t it yesterday when we were
Six, seven, eight, listening
To the summer rain?
But we’re just as beautiful now
Peaceful, with everyone watching us
Through the summer rain
Don’t tell us we’re not like we used to be
We want it, we can’t help it
But we’re just as beautiful now
Watching the summer rain
The Yesterday
As days and months, and
twisted years,
Quickly found their way,
Suddenly, I returned to the
yesterday.
I sat, and watched a cloud
float by,
Slowly across the Azure sky.
Heard a whisper, in the trees,
Thought I felt you in a breeze.
Sought a flower for your hair,
When I reached, you were'nt
there.
poem by Heather Burns
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Yesterday Man
Sometimes people say to me,
why do you write so much about the past?
I look at them with dreamy eyes;
a small smile curls my lips,
visions of my childhood,
runs across my mind.
Of the days of innocence
that were left so far behind.
Those days when everything was new,
so ready to explore.
Then one day the world came by,
with its harsh reality,
and with a sweep of its hand,
took all the innocence away.
Therefore, now you know why,
I want to be a yesterday man.
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Today is better than Yesterday
Yesterday
Yesterday, I was running with to feet
Yesterday, I was playing with kids
Yesterday, I was kicking the ball
Yesterday, I had it all, all was mine.
Yesterday, I was growing well,
Yesterday, I had it all undercover
Yesterday was my day
Yesterday, my days were
Yesterday, I had a lover, ‘true lover’
Yesterday, promises were made
Yesterday, promises were not kept
Yesterday, I was happy.
Yesterday, I gave him everything
Yesterday, I sacrificed everything
Yesterday, I was a fool
Yesterday, I was dying
Today
Today, I am lying in bed
Today, I am watching hopeless kids
Today, I can hardly move
Today, everything is falling
Today, I am dying in bed
Today, it is all wrong
Today, is not my day
Today, my days are not
Today, I have no one
Today, promises are broken
Today, promises are not
Today, I have no hope
Today, I long for myself
Today, I cry over spilled milk
Today, I am wise
Today, I live
Whatever happened yesterday is not
Whatever was, is not
Whatever was broken can be fixed
Whatever wound are, can be healed
Just need the Perfect Healer
Jesus I know you are! ! !
poem by Sbonelo C Ngcobo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
You Held The World In Your Arms
Every face, even the one you saw yesterday
It looks different today,
Because everything's changed since yesterday,
in every possible way,
Things seem different today,
Not like yesterday
Is consideration, more like an exception, of consideration?
[Chorus]
You held the world in your arms tonight,
And what if you held the world in your arms
When you're secure do you feel much safer?
When days never change and it's three years later,
It's like your life, hasn't changed and it's three years late,
How does it feel to be three years late
and watching your youth drift away?
What seems different seems different today
What seems different seems different today
song performed by by Idlewild
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
My Innocent Childhood
soil soil and soil, , playing in the soil,
No fear of disease, no fear of toil.
What a wonderful days that was,
i always remember my childhood, my innocent childhood..
Only friend no foes,
no thinking of what dont and what does.
No fear of future, no thinking of present,
i always remember my childhood, my innocent childhood..
What was the past, leave it, it surpassed,
what has to happen, lets face when it comes.
Future planning! What is this?
i always remember my childhood, my innocent childhood..
Play was religion and play was God,
only thing which gave fear, was my fathers rod.
Crying crying crying a lot, then said love you pappa,
i always remember my childhood, my innocent childhood..
poem by Zeya Mallick
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Stickleback
Somethings from childhood till old age remain
And old Joe returns to his youth again
By stream between the hedgerow and the old dirt track
He often stood and watched the stickleback.
The stickleback a fish of minnow size
Reddish under the gills and bulging eyes
In Spring and Summer in dykes and streams they breed
When male for the female makes a nest of weeds.
And in the nest their eggs the females laid
The only part in parenting they played
They left the male to the parenting role
To guard their young and his boundaries to patrol.
I will be seventy on my next birthday
Says old Joe with the hair of silver gray
And though somethings from our childhood with us stay
As years go by the memories fade away.
And in my boyhood years in distant Liverpool
On Spring evenings on my way home from school
By stream between the hedgerow and dirt track
I often stood and watched the stickleback.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Like Yesterday
It's three years now since you left
But I still think of you like yesterday
My love of past days
They still want me like yesterday;
But in my heart today
It is you I see in my dreams,
With you I want to
Spend the rest of my days.
poem by Efe Benjamin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!