I remember those days, was it so long ago,
When summers were balmy and time seemed to run slow.
Some children were well fed, dressed clean and neat,
While others wore patches and walked on bare feet.
Boys in short trousers, girls’ skirts past their knees,
Shaved heads were common, as were lice and fleas.
Childhood diseases would maim, often kill,
No time for mourning, less bellies to fill.
Raising families of twelve, the mothers were worn,
No contraception, so another child born.
Winter brought bronchitis, flu and Tb,
Children with green candles dangling free.
With no form of heating and inadequate food,
For many those ‘Good old days’ were not very good.
Irene C S ClarkHogg
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/those-good-old-days/
