I ran and he chased me,
Through fields of bright green,
We picked the wild flowers,
....And I was eighteen.
John Kennedy, President
We were so proud,
That we were American,
Shouted it loud.
Vietnam saddened us,
Too many lost,
What we had accomplished,
Just not worth the cost
.Drugs were reserved then,
For hippies and such.
The majority of us,
Most drugs wouldn't touch.
A bar meant a soda bar,
A Joint was a place,
That anyone decent,
Would not show their face.
And I ran and he chased me,
Through fields of bright green,
We picked the wild flowers,
....And I was eighteen.
***************************
Then came the 70's,
A child on each knee,
They ran, and I chased them,
....I was just twenty-three.
Survivors came back,
Addicted and more,
>From a hell here on earth,
That they couldn't call war.
Morals were slipping,
No one seemed to care,
Wife swapping and liquor,
Could be seen everywhere.
And we seemed to lose interest.
Respect and our pride,
Were left back in Dallas,
When JFK died....
The kids ran and I chased them,
And then they chased me,
Through fields overgrown,
.....I was just twenty-three.
*****************************
The 80's, a blur,
Didn't know what to do,
Hang on to the old,
Or grab on to the new!
And I ran, but in circles,
Not knowing my fate,
And I ran, and I ran,
....I was now 38 !
And the non-caring life,
That we lived without fear,
Was now catching up,
Every joint, every beer.
We'd ruined the environment,
Air was not clear,
Lakes were polluted,
Mother Earth shed a tear.
And our friends now weren'tdying,
From going to war,
But from tension and stress,
High Blood Pressure and more.
And I ran, but in circles,
Not knowing my fate,
And I ran, and I ran,
....I was now 38 !
**************************
It's the 90's, the language,
Now seems to be foreign,
And there's drugs on all corners,
And the crime is just soarin'
And there's no fields to run in,
If only I could,
For we've just turned fifty,
And the outlook's not good.
We've just worked too hard,
And left no time to play,
We lost the wild flowers,
And forgot how to pray.
They've taken the prayer,
Right out of our schools,
And no one remembers,
The old Golden Rule
There are no fields to run in,
If only I could,
And I've just turned 50,
The outlook's not good.
***************************
We're quickly approaching,
What they call Y2K,
The kids have us recycling,
It might be okay.
We're learning to eat right,
Low Cal and Low Fat,
And we're growing ourvegetables,
No chemicals in that.
And if Social Security
Doesn't run out,
Before our kids get a chance,
To turn it about.
Then we'll approach sixty,
Ow, it's much too soon,
But this time we'll be singing,
A much different tune.
I walked through the field,
And he walked after me,
Couldn't pick the wild flowers,
Not with the bad knee.
But in my mind, I was running,
And he, after me,
And our hearts were as young as,
.....When we were eighteen.
Anna Mae Wittig