It was once so much fun to go “Boom!”
(Or, “The Old Toy Cannoneer’s Lament”)
He thinks back to when he was a lad –
To the innocent fun that he had
With a fuse and some powder
Making thunder much louder
Than a bright summer June day should have
Most fathers once felt that their boys
To become men must have the right toys
Like Grand-pap did before
Father went to the store
And passed down a sacred tradition
The cannon Dad brought home that day
No doubt sang out often in play
Now fond memories, then
Speak to him in his den
As he sees in it times far away
Lo! It was once so much fun to go “Boom!”
But the cannon stands mute in that room
For cruel time gave youth chase
Now it just takes up space -
It’ll be in his big yard sale soon.
(Or, “The Old Toy Cannoneer’s Lament”)
He thinks back to when he was a lad –
To the innocent fun that he had
With a fuse and some powder
Making thunder much louder
Than a bright summer June day should have
Most fathers once felt that their boys
To become men must have the right toys
Like Grand-pap did before
Father went to the store
And passed down a sacred tradition
The cannon Dad brought home that day
No doubt sang out often in play
Now fond memories, then
Speak to him in his den
As he sees in it times far away
Lo! It was once so much fun to go “Boom!”
But the cannon stands mute in that room
For cruel time gave youth chase
Now it just takes up space -
It’ll be in his big yard sale soon.
__________________________________
Bert Barnett
Bert Barnett has been a student of the War Between the States since his youth.
Bert has always had a subterranean interest in poetry, first indulging his muse in public school. (Thankfully, no examples from this period are believed to remain.)
He is presently at work on a book, tentatively entitled “Rhyme and Reasons: The Meaning and Power of Poetry in Civil War America”.