I Once Knew…

I once knew a little boy that was so full of life...
he was never scared...
he thought the world was safe...
he ate Fruity Pebbles and watched old school Looney Tunes... 
he actually looked forward to the humid summertime heat...
he had endless energy...
he avoided work at all costs...
he rode bicycles on dirt roads with his cousins...
he swam in countryside creeks and did not worry about staring at the kittens at the nearby beaches...
sex did not exist...
neither did a buzz...
his cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and blood pressure was perfect...
...
this boy existed before dial up and constantly used his nonstop imagination to disappear from the world of today...
no screens...
no internet...
no facades to update on social media...
...
it was just him living in the first person...
...
and time went by very, very slow.

I once knew a little boy that was ready to grow up...
he wanted each school year to go by as fast as they possibly could...
he couldn't wait for junior high to be over...
he couldn't wait for senior high to fly by so he could go off to college...
he worked every summer since he was 12, not by choice but for the better...
he ate Fruit Loops and did not worry about the harmful dyes in it... 
he was ready to move out of his parent's house and finally be on his own...
he broke girls' hearts only to have that feeling justly reciprocated back to him...
he made friends and enjoyed the days of his youth...
he looked at the forty year old and pitied him and said he was never going to be that old...
sex was fornication and fornication was advertised as fun...
the buzzes left their sting and almost everyone around him chased them...
his body was officially in its prime and he did not care...
...
this boy existed before dial up and still used his imagination from time to time and tried to figure out what his dream was going to be...
no screens...
no internet...
no selfies to try to impress the world with...
...
it was just him living in his own delusion...
...
and time began to go by a little faster.

I once knew a little boy that graduated college and was going to take the world by storm...
he worked with his three piece family at their self owned business...
he struggled and took flak from dentists in order to survive...
he made memories that he would keep forever...
he made some memories he wished he could erase forever...
there were a lot of successes that carry over into his current now...
there were a couple of mistakes that also carry over...
he remained optimistic even though he had his fair share of scars...
he was still hopeful despite what the current world promoted... 
he ate Cinnamon Toast Crunch and drank soda without worrying about it causing cancer...
sex became scheduled and was less spontaneous and had less mystery to it...
the buzz was still good because it became a momentary escape...
he was diagnosed with acid reflux and was also prescribed a beta blocker...
...
this boy existed before dial up and he began to chase a couple of dreams while keeping his imagination in his back pocket...
no screens...
no internet...
no selfies to try to impress the world with...
...
it was just him living in the somewhat disappointing realm that he rushed his entire childhood and adolescence to be in...
...
and time began to go by even faster...

I once knew a little boy who turned into the forty year old he used to scoff at...
he was always tired...
he was no longer self employed but carried on the same family traditions for another company...
he was still hopeful to a fault...
he fed off some of the memories of yesterday...
he ate hard boiled eggs and drank water instead of feasting on sugary cereals and drinks... 
he wished he could delete the memories that made his palate salivate bittersweet... 
he struggled to practice what he preached...
he was disconnected from the world that used to be his playground...
he was now stable, happy, blessed, healthy, but still looking for the corner pieces of the puzzle that we all try to put together at some point in time...
he fornicated as long as his right knee could withstand the friction of the moment and depending on how sleepy he was from working endlessly...
the buzz had long died out and wouldn't have matched the sting it used to have nor be worth the effort much less hard earned money...
the doctors added a cholesterol pill along with the reflux meds and beta blocker... 
...
this boy existed before dial up and tirelessly continues to chase his dreams even though the thought of abandoning it crosses his mind on a regular basis and a sense of peace comes along with that thought of just merely giving up and existing and metaphysically dying out like everyone else but his imagination still re-grounds his soul and his undying, hopeful passion to this very day while God tells him that all his struggles and perseverance will be worth it in the end and the people will be able to read in the comfort of their own company or on all the screens, big and small, what his make believe has conjured up and help them escape like he used to and still does...
when he was little, though, there were no screens...
when he was little, though, there was no internet...
there were no selfies to flood the world with...
...
it was just him living in the now, never worrying about the yesterday or tomorrow...
...
and time ticked by so fast that it scared him to know how close to death he actually was.

I once knew a little boy... 
his parents were young...
he was younger...
life was better than just good...
the world was not crazy, psychotic, nor blind like it is today...
money was worth something and was taxed less...
his grandparents were still alive...
his family got together on holidays...
he talked to his friends on a landline...
he snuck around behind his parent's back and smoked Marlboros and Camel Lights...
he saved the world with his BB gun, bicycle, and a couple packs of Black Cat and M80 firecrackers...
he rode four wheelers on dirt roads and around country paths and fields...
he worked in tobacco fields every summer until graduating high school...
he did not have to worry about taxes, forty hour work weeks, overtime, and insurance...
he did not have to worry about having a dream to chase...
he lived in the now and not on a screen...
he stayed up late with no real consequence...
he daydreamed with no penalty...
there were very few rules for him to follow because they were not needed because everyone acted somewhat decent...
there was no sex...
there was no buzz...
there was no medication...
there was only simple living in a simple world with his simple soul and simple mind and simple heart and simple feelings with no scars, no lies, no fear, no demands, no narcissistic arrows being shot his way, no nothing...
...
this boy existed before dial up and there was a dream that waited for him twenty years down the road and he was going to have to chase it for another twenty, his imagination slowly leading him to where he needed to be...
there were only three screens - the television, his eyes, and the 'outside'...
there was no internet or 5G LTE MAX PLUS version 7000...
the only way to take a selfie was with a disposable camera and you had to send it off to get it developed and you would not get it back until one week later...
...
it was just him living in a world that felt carefree and actually made sense...
...
and time went by so slow that it would scare most of the ones living in the simulated singularity of the now...

I once knew a little boy...
...
for you, it could be the same or could be
I once knew a little girl...
...
regardless,
some of the situations are the same
if you think about what I have written...
...
...
I once knew a little boy...
he...
...
I once knew a little...
she...
...
I once knew a...
he...
...
I once knew...
she...
...
I once...
...
I

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Enjoy this jam from my Personal Playlist

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