Memories of Yesteryear

royston 1946 (Reading)



My early days at nursery school
running around and playing the fool.
Getting meningitis and almost dying
and then waking up in the hospital crying.

Eating oranges with ice cream as well
and scrumping for apples down in the dell.
Playing “knock down ginger” on the door.
Building camps in the park and so much more.

Vinyl records on the radiogram playing
TV’s with black and white films displaying.
Skinny dipping and giving the girls a fright
then sleeping on the river island overnight.

Being sacrificed on the altar at Stonehenge
then chasing my friend to get my revenge.
Playing cowboys and Indians behind hedgerows
after going to Saturday morning picture shows.

Rag and bone men walking down the road
and the muffin man carrying his tasty load.
Crazy dancing to “Rock around the clock”
and then playing “Tellstar” on the juke box.

Sputnik flying around in space so fast
and seeing a man walk on the moon at last.
Playing the transistor radio in the park
listening to Radio Caroline in the dark.

Ban the bomb marches and Teddy boy rousers
in their psychedelic socks and drainpipe trousers.
A great knuckle duster and flick knife fight.
and the giant street fires on Bonfire night.

A bunch of penny bangers and a jumping jack
and the amnesty when we sent our weapons back.
Then spending a sleepless night in a police cell.
I have all these memories and many more to tell.
Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted by royston on April 26, 2021

Modified on April 26, 2023

1:12 min read
8

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABB CCDD BBEE FFGG HHXG IIJJ GGEE KKCC
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,357
Words 242
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

royston

Still experimenting with poetry and still learning more…

All royston poems | royston Books

4 fans

Discuss the poem "Memories of Yesteryear" with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Memories of Yesteryear" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/98340/memories-of-yesteryear>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    12
    days
    19
    hours
    35
    minutes

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the 1892 poem Gunga Din?
    A Walt Whitman
    B Rudyard Kipling
    C Alfred, Lord Tennyson
    D Ho Xuan Huong