I sing of lost idle summer days

     spent covering Ottumwa's hills,

      pedaling mindlessly to the swimming pool

     thinking every day would be the same

     stopping by the bakery to eat the freshly baked sugar donuts

     happily unaware of the vast calories each contained.

I sing of past summer days

        spent with my dad and  loyal lab Blackie

        not minding his slobbers running down the front seat of the Belvedere

        while in anticipation of a dip in the lagoon

        none of us  heeding the lifeguard's warning whistle and command.

I sing of lost summer days

       spent with my best friend Diana

       pedaling our bikes while holding our fishing poles and buckets dangling

      thinking of the fish to catch but never clean and of the old fishermen's yells

      "Be quiet!  You'll scare the fish away.

I lastly sing of the lost days of everyone of when

        we were all blissfully unaware of global warming,

       we trusted our neighbors and doors were never locked,

       we weren't connected to the news of world wide disasters 24/7

       and when kids were allowed to be kids and played outdoors  dawn till dusk!