Simple Days

I was walking down the street last week,
And I heard a man singing.
But this song wasn't a song I've heard before.
And all I could recall was this phrase: "Simple Days".

Then I saw him.

He was older and homeless,
Layered full with a beard the size of Pennsylvania.
But his hands were hummingbirds,
Flapping away at his knees.
While he sat there,
Singing the day away.
And his words left his lips and sailed while he sang.
Through the street and cars,
Passed the birds, passed the bees,
Passed the leaves and the trees,
And flew into the air,
Spreading his overwhelming nostalgia.
"Simple days, Simple days" he sang,
"Simple days, Simple days".

And in the midst of his little musical
I had to stop him and ask,
"What's your name, sir?"
He looked up at me and said "Frank."
"Frank," I asked "You mean Frank as in Franklin?"
"No," He replied "Frank as in Joseph"

I said "Well Frank, let me give you something"
And I handed him a crisp 10 dollar bill.
He asked me what it was for.

I told him it's for those simple days.
Spend it wisely.
Because sometimes frugality really pays.
And he reminds me,
That I don't need to tell him that,
Obviously.

I continued with "Don't spend it on just anything,
Go buy a Hot fudge sundae or something."

Frank seemed a bit puzzled.

You know, The simple days,
When the Gourmet Lemonade you made was just a nickel to any passers by.
Back when a swing set was a rocket ship sailing toward the sun.
You know I'm not the only one that remembers that.
Back when the days were long, and love was accompanied by cooties.
Sticks were swords and trees were castles.
But at the end of the day,
We blew it all away,
With our plasma powered rocket launcher pistols.
Back when all you knew about a bill,
Was that it lived on liberty hill.

Those simple days we took for granted,
Those simple days we thought would never end.
And they almost didn't.
Then suddenly we wake up one day to a broken alarm,
And wish that there wasn't traffic.

Those days were lost long ago
You know,
Probably when we found ourselves turning down beggars for a quarter.
It's alright though, You needed it,
After all, no one can function without their morning coffee, right?

And that light,
The one that seemed to guide us when we were children flickers,
Sharing and love are thrown away with the morning memo.
And that musician with the guitar strap filled in pins and stickers,
You toss him a dollar so he could finally record that demo.
And that,
That brings it all back.

Back to your first kiss,
And sleepovers.
Ghost stories, trampolines,
Balloon fights, magazines,
And pig tails,
God awful pig tails,
Knotted to perfection.
Back when the nights were long, and love was accompanied by the moonlight.
Sticks were bonfires and trees were a pallet for engraved hearts.
But at the end of the night,
We blew out that light,
And let romance take over as our new found arts.
Those simple, simple days we knew.

Don't get the moral mixed up either,
I'm not saying grab the next homeless person you see and give him all your cash,
Just hang on to those little moments that last,
Those cherished happy moments of our past.
Then pass it on to the people you greet,
And all of them that you meet
Might just say, "Wow.. What a kind person"
And if you're lucky it might spread.
Now wouldn't that be a bitch of an epidemic?
Happiness spreading like warm butter.
Maybe a little comfort food for thought.

And I never saw Frank again,
He blew away that day with the morning wind.
But i can only conclude that he's swinging on a rocket ship towards the sun somewhere,
Air flowing in his hair,
Wearing a smile from ear to ear.
Singing away about more complicated days.