STICKY BUDS

Sticky buds - a sign of spring
Are opening despite the rain
Each one unfurls
And shows its worth
There will be autumn fruits again

No-one collects them nowadays
The game is past - no longer fun
But those of us with memories
Relive those times
When we were young

We baked the conkers in the oven
Then pushed a sharpened skewer in
Threaded the string 
And tied a knot
Then hoped we'd done enough to win

iPads and phones have taken over
The games we “oldies” used to play
We stayed outdoors 
Until Mum called us
But many times we asked to stay

Out in the gloom - we still weren’t hungry
We were having so much fun
On our bikes and playing conkers
Making the most of every hour
When we were young.

© Maureen Iles
12/04/18

P.S.  I took this and many other photographs alongside a busy road at the back of our house - and got very wet as the grass hasn't yet been cut on the verges here.  I must admit that I did get some strange looks too - bet they thought "It's that silly old dear out again!"  Little did they know that, unlike them, this little sticky bud will be having its 15 minutes of fame on Blip.  I'm really enjoying this challenge - thanks to Scribbler for the reminder about April being National Poetry Writing Month.