Hot Summer Days-F

In a picture I saw city kids on a hot summer day It could have been any city like New York or Chicago Kids are having a feast of fun, laughing with worries none The sidewalks are lined with gazers and onlookers Smiley faced children were keeping cool in what looks to be an open trench filled with water at an abandoned construction site Perhaps the crew took a break from the heat, for heaven's sake It reminds me of a different time, another place, and other faces Like in my poor and rural hometown, it appears they too had no neighborhood amusement nor a cool community pool in which to play But like us, they were joyful and happy in the middle of the street They did not feel underprivileged as they beat back the heat Neither did we as we swung on ropes from bankside trees and jumped into the polluted muddy waters in a country creek Times have changed in cities and rural communities across the land But kids everywhere in all walks of life continue to play through the heat 08242017PSContest, Hot Summer Day, Eve Roper