Cinder Block Seats, Scraped Knees, And Old Man's Beer

Oh, when I sit back and reflect,

on my younger days,

I remember my group of friends,

and the games we used to play.

I remember my dirty white T-shirt,

with grape juice stains.

and Saturday nights,

with the old Miami Hurricanes.

Mom raised me,

by raising the belt,

and gave me ice cream on hot days,

before it would melt.

She taught me to be nice,

and was nice herself,

but when the older kids,

were on the porch rolling dice,

the whole block heard her yell.

The grown-ups would sit,

on boxes and cinder blocks,

As they wasted their all their money,

one game of cards.

I remember,

playing hide and seek.

we would count to ten,

but at two, we would start to peek.

Homebase,

was the big tree.

As I ran as fast as I could,

I fell and scraped my knees.

We had fun in the pool,

as we would scream an shout.

until someone admitted they peed,

then we screamed as we got out.

Weekend bar-b-qs,

were always the best,

and once the next day came,

I put on my Sunday vest.

As soon as we were home,

dad sat in his chair,

as he turned on the game and cheered,

and cracked open his beer.

Oh that nasty beer,

was so thick, heavy, and bitter.

As it fell down my throat,

my whole body would shiver.

Still, those were the old days.

As I grew older,

I learned to put my life in God's hands.

I found out the easy ways,

and the hard ways,

that God already has my plans.

So I thank the Lord,

for my childhood -

rappers, fighting, and soda cans,

so I may know,

what childish things to put away,

as I grew into a man.