Jason Horsler Poet Rhyme

Notes About The Poem

(11/2023) Mercurochrome was a red topical antiseptic for minor wounds which is no longer sold due to its mercury content.

This poem first appeared in 'Beware the Cheshire Cat' (volume 1 of my poetry). It has also been included in 'Butterfly Mind' (2025) an omnibus collection of the first five volumes.

NINETEEN EIGHTY’S KIDS

We had to be back before the street lamps came on,
our bicycles with pedal brakes and a dynamo-light.
Things were just different when we were still young,
all meeting in the park for a game or clod fight.

We dug several forts and built up dirt ramps.
We found a dog skull near a cold tramp's fire.
We improved my friend’s treehouse with a wooden pallet
and made booby traps out of string and barbed wire.

We competed for height in the avocado trees
and made bows and arrows and spears.
We waged war with the ants using firecrackers
and in the river, we piled deep stoney weirs.

No day was complete without a cut or a roasty
though no one much cried until we got home,
where our mothers nursed us with cups of sugar water
and the stinging red kiss of Mercurochrome.

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