A Simple World

Chalk lines on the pavement,
hopscotch in the sun.
Jump ropes on the sidewalk,
running just for fun.

Bicycles and scraped knees,
climbing every tree.
Knocking on a friend's front door,
the whole wide world was free.

The world keeps changing every day,
reaching further than before.
But tell me where that simple world
of childhood is today.

Now a phone beneath the pillow
lights the bedroom through the night.
Games and messages keep coming,
blue reflections in their eyes.

The world keeps changing every day,
reaching further than before.
But tell me where that simple world
of childhood is today.

Drones above and war around them,
children wake in fear at night.
Burning homes and streets in rubble,
who will give their childhood back?

The world keeps changing every day,
reaching further than before.
But tell me where that simple world
of childhood is today.

The world keeps changing every day,
reaching further than before.
But tell me where that simple world
of childhood is today.

When evening meant:
“Come home.”