way back when ...

The meat is in the larder
The milk outside the front door,
The paper boy will soon be round 
Wonder what news is new in store,
 
Mums washing the dishes
And Dads just got out of bed,
Breakfast will soon be served
Today is tea jam and bread,
 
I want to ride my bike,
Call for Jenny down the road,
We play all day and get grazed knees

And only go home when were towed,
 
Supper will soon be ready 
Roast beef with Gravy and veg,
Mum slaved all day over the stove
Or so she said and pledged,
 
The tea has been eaten 
And now it’s my favourite part,
Its sherry trifle on Sundays
But we also get a cherry bake well tart,
 
I go up to bed, fresh sheets mum has laid
The love they have for me will not go unpaid
 
The materials we have are not much but its fine,
We have each other to speak to and together we dine.
 
Its 2018 now and im 25
This poem was set back when my grandma was alive,
It’s a representation of what was back then
When my mother was a young girl aged around 10,
 
This is how I want my life to be but it’s not.
Instead we work long hours and hope not for a pay cut.
 
There are no bikes to be ridden or calling for friends.
It’s TV, Internet, and the media that pretends.
 
Theres no paperboy or milkman that I have ever known
What I wouldn’t give to have been in my mother’s time zone
 
Simple but useful, enjoyable and good
Getting grazed knees and coming home covered in mud
 
Im embarrassed by society and the youth of today
All those old traditions have just gone. Slipped away.
 
No respect is now given for the elderly  or elders
No good hard grafting jobs like being miners or welders
 
No chimney sweeps or coal fires are ever now lit
All that hard work from the folk down the pit
 
Ohhhh society today what have you done.
Self-check out machines at the supermarkets. What fun.
 
I don’t like the world I live in today
Take me back to the simpler time, go outside, feel safe and play.
 
Anyway must dash these bills must get paid
Before my credit score gets flagged and gets knocked down a grade.