As I look back upon my life,

I feel really good,

There’s not too much I have missed

I did all that I could.

My youth had lots of hard times,

With so many sisters and brothers;

But it taught us all good lessons,

And to be kind to one another.

I was taught to care and share,

For toys, there were not many.

Sometimes we made our own toys,

With cardboard, string or anything,

In hope they would bring us joy.

Sometimes we played with pennies.

We’d lay them on the floor

And try to make designs.

When we were done, we voted

To see which was the best.

The winner got 25 pennies.

And a few were given

To the rest.

We played a lot of games outdoors

And ran around a lot;

We got a lot of exercise;

We never got in trouble.

But when we heard our Mother call,

We ran home on the double.

Shirley Binkley

Cedar View Apartments

shrobi53@gmail.com.