I thought one day
I thought one day
An adult I would be
The decisions would be mine
The world would be a better place
Summer would last forever
Nobody would go hungry
Press their noses to the glass
Lie beneath a bunch of rags
Push a handcart down the street
Full of broken things
Queue at uncle’s pawnshop
For a few shillings on lay by
Hoping to do better with the next load
Stand in line at the social
For an emergency payment
Climb down into a basement
To escape the starbursts
That nightly shell a neighbourhood
As the radio plays
A medley of old songs
From the time before
When we were impressionable.
As an adult
Every day would add a different story
To a book of happy endings
Tomorrow would always be a little better
There would be somewhere
To get to in the end
Chasing rainbows would be
A pastime
For the restless rover
Never getting any closer
Than yesterday
But rejoicing in the way
It pulled us all together
Invisibly mended
The scars we had
Would only make us stronger
The connections we made
Would build a foundation
For a better world
I thought one day
An adult I would be
Am I still waiting
Or is this dreaming
Of a better way
Just a distraction
From the truth that
Getting older
Is not the same as growing up.