Days of Single

Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1526/1530–1569)

Children's Games (detail) - public domain

those were the days of single

a single car a single radio, maybe a TV and a single phone with its dial a crooked smile and permission to be asked

those were the days of single-glazed windows a winter-frosted canvas for you to draw a single face and watch it weep itself away

those too were the days of standing outside in the morning chill waiting for the single toilet to be free

and those were the days of a single Sunday best you hardly ever wore and a single midweek candy was utter bliss and joy

those were the days of single

and now they are of more and ever more with not a jot or tittle added of bliss or joy