Electric Nostalgia

Nostalgia thumps in my chest
When I stroll by a kid who reads
a book made of light,
with a choice to zoom in
for a clearer view of the words
on its screen of rich gloss

One click bookmarks a page.
Another click whisks her away
To a social media heaven
Where instant messages
gather to reward her youth

Nostalgia flows through my thoughts
As I remember the time when books
were the sustenance for this kid

When libraries held the landmarks
for bliss to guide my triumphant flips
through the pages of my prize in spine

Nostalgia hits my heart with a beat
as I remember Saturday mornings spent
reading a dusty copy of The Secret Garden
Dusty books were the best to this kid

A young mind that conjured kings
and queens before me who read this book
then passed it down to their kids
who were princes and princesses

And in that book, I palmed the ashes
of their royalty which were now
the roots of my own glory

Nostalgia bows my head in honor
for the memories of a golden time
When imagination was a gift

A time when books to a child
meant a chance to explore
the mystique of literature

And zoom was a speed in which this kid’s
mind traveled across written worlds
composed in wondrous freedom

Nostalgia breathes in the air of innocence
I sigh with pride of having truly lived as a kid