Silent Streets
By: Steve Schultz
Where I grew up there was chalk on the sidewalk and games in the street.
Baseball, basketball, flashlight tag and hide n go seek.
We loved the competition, as we played day after day.
Life was recess; our imagination had the greatest say.
We’d tussle and argue over who won or who lost,
But after a short separation, we came back together with a new ball to toss.
Our laughter and screams serenaded the block.
So present minded we never looked at a clock.
We were builders, tree houses and forts
We used scissors and saws, materials of all sorts.
We looked after each other and really deeply cared
Always got into trouble, after a double dog dare.
We learned our lessons; it was all in good fun.
Childhood went so quickly, we were always on the run.
What happened to the magic, what happened to the euphoric screams?
Children stay inside now, locked in front of computer screens.
Every child has a tablet but not a seat at the dinner table.
I fear families staying together will become merely a fable.
I’m searching for the fossils, artifacts of truth.
The streets are silent now; need a stethoscope to hear the echoes of my youth.
If we don’t turn down the volume and once again value that sound
The chimes of children playing, of innocence abound.
Then we’ll lose something sacred, the grit that teaches a community to commit.
Through trials of adolescent games is where children learn not to submit.
Parents must stop interfering and let them learn to fly on their own.
Remind our children that it’s safe to go play outside the home.
Let’s make cars have to stop three or four times because children are at play.
Let us remember our own childhood spirit every single day.
Where we were happy for no reason and could turn a stick into a spaceship.
Where every dream was possible and just for the joy of it, our walk became a skip.
I want us to know our neighbors again, unlocked doors, raised as if we were all in tune.
Be the little boy who believes if he just stretches his arm long enough, surely he can touch the moon.
