Childhoods End

I have tried As the years have gone by To keep the child within me Alive But each year that passes Tiny bits and peaces Fall away You look so young My friends all say And as I thank them I know It because the child in me Still laughed and played But these days My life has changed Now In my old age years I have searched myself Looked everywhere In my mind In my heart And in my soul But the child I once knew Has gone Late at night I look at the photographs That are the stories Of my life Each one makes me smile And for the briefest of moments The child within smiles Before vanishing away You look so young My friends all say And as I thank them I find myself yearning For those younger years With but a single wish Dear God Help me remember What it is like To be a child Again