When I was a young boy

When I was a young boy - Memories of the Riley Days Parade of Flowers Greenfield, IN - Celebrating James Whitcomb Riley

When I was a young boy,

I lived in a small town,

Lots of people would come,

From miles and miles around.

They lined all of the streets,

From both sides looking in,

From the schools to the courthouse,

They would wait with a grin.

They chatted with their neighbors,

Leaves rattled in the trees,

They reached down for a jacket,

To block the autumn breeze.

“It’s not quite pumpkin time,”

“It sure won’t be long now,”

“Talking ‘bout the weather?”

“did ya find you lost cow?”

I don’t remember much,

Know I got out of school,

Mom sent me hold’n somethin’,

Wrapped in foil to keep cool.

Teachers lined us all up,

Then we walked two by two,

Led by the school colors,

The good old gold and blue.

Out the doors of our classrooms,

Down the halls we all marched,

We stopped at the fountains,

So we wouldn’t get parched.

A long walk was before us,

Three whole miles there and back,

That’s a lot for a thirdgrader,

But we had somethin’ to pack.

Four by Four down the sidewalks,

Warned don’t step on a crack,

We all echoed the motto,

“Or you’ll break your mother’s back”.

We joined with the other schools,

A Parade we did form,

A Band was before us,

Each one carried his horn.

We unwrapped our Packages,

Then we molded the tin,

We played our fake instruments,

Now we all fitted in.

Down the streets we did walk,

A siren started to blare,

We were already tiring,

But, we had something to share.

Past the people on both sides,

And we heard them Exclaim,

“Look! Here come the children!”

Then they called us by Name.

“Hi Jimmy”, “Wave Karen”,

“Have you seen brother Ken?”

Of course we just smiled.

It was our turn to grin.

I must tell of the packages,

‘Cause your dying to know,

What we were all carrying,

Was the Point of this Show.

The children held firmly,

At the base of a stem,

Small bouquets of flowers,

There were thousands of them.

We held them so proudly,

Self esteem it did soar,

For one day of the year,

No telling rich from the poor.

We all had our treasures,

And we carried them such,

For the world to see them,

‘Hoped they liked them as much.

The bands were now playing,

The whistles were blowing,

The director was yelling,

Just like a rooster crowing.

We walked en mass now,

The teachers were scurrying,

They tried to corrale us,

I’m sure they were worrying.

As we got to the courthouse,

All order was restored,

Single file was the rule,

As we were directed forward.

One by one we approached,

Placed our flowers at the base,

Then we looked way way up,

To see his kind gentle face.

The Parade roared behind us,

But it was peaceful inside,

The crouds were all cheering,

‘Was so happy; I cried.

I felt like I had done,

Something great at the time,

And now I’m Looking back,

To say thanks for the rhyme.

James L Wells 5-5-05