Down memory lane

I spent today wandering down memory lane
The same lovely houses,
safe streets, happy neighbourhoods
with us kids wandering into and out of everyone's homes

The parks that kept us occupied for hours
with no playground attached to it
just grounds
to run and yell
in gay abandon

I remembered how we used to admire
those great trees
Flame of the forest
Jacaranda
Cherry blossom
Such a riot of colours
This was the stuff of our arena

I remembered how we used to dive into the gutters
to retreive our playthings
while laughing uproariously
over a joke someone made up

I remembered how we would cycle
up and down streets
and then park our bikes
by the gate and walk into
our families
sitting for dinner

And if I were to ask
my playmates of then
what they remembered best
they would probably say
the elephant that used to surprise
us every once in a while
by walking majestically
down the road
with its keeper

such pleasures
we can only re-discover
if we are bold enough
to take a trip down memory lane
where we know these things surely still exist