and when i was a younger lad
my life ranged far afield
from lazy days and fire filled nights
to animals i'd killed
to water holes and fishing spots
from dawn to dusk each day
i jumped and swam and ran and played
and slept in barns of hay
and found my friends in gangs of four
or five or six or two
we altogether ransacked life
there's naught we didn't do
we'd hike and climb and shoot and eat
we'd stalk our deadly prey
we laughed and cried and terrified
all those who passed our way
until the end of summer came
in shoes we found our feet
and collars high and tight and stiff
away from wind and wheat
but autumn nights by candlelight
continued we our feasts
in cave or river, tree and sky
hunting the mighty beasts
and now we're grown and all alone
we've left that life behind
with wives and daughters, sons and cars
and all that it entails
but still remembered summer nights
call out to me some ways
and i recall boyhood adventure
and smile for olden days