Go out now, children, while you can and play.
The time to romp and frolic will not last.
Drink Kool-Aid under shade trees while you may.
Sing simple songs of summer, dance and sway.
Tomorrow might be glum and overcast.
Go out now, children, while you can and play.
Time flies. Take to the yard without delay.
Turn off the TV. Won’t Mom look aghast?
Drink Kool-Aid under shade trees while you may.
Turn on the sprinkler. Welcome its cold spray.
Play hide-and-seek, and have yourselves a blast!
Go out now, children, while you can and play.
“Tomorrow—chance of rain,” forecasters say.
It’s nine o’clock. The morning’s going fast.
Drink Kool-Aid under shade trees while you may.
Your parents watch and smile on such a day,
recalling joyous summer months long past.
Go out now, children, while you can and play.
Drink Kool-Aid under shade trees while you may.
Janice Canerdy is a retired English teacher from Potts Camp, Mississippi.
The Veiled Image at Sais, Words of Delusion & Other Poems
Featured in New Lyre Summer 2023 The Veiled Images at Sais Struck by a burning thirst for knowledge, a youth Travelled through ancient Egyptian lands —to Sais—to breach the secrets of its priests; He eagerly made all the needed grades, But still relentlessly kept climbing higher
I found this poem about as enjoyable as I imagine a weary update on Gather Ye Rosebuds while Ye May. I hope the Kool Aid washes away the world weariness of the poetry, which I enjoyed and which gives nuance to the expression, "Drinking the Kool Aid."