When I was just a little girl,
I loved to roller skate.
In fact, to skate from dawn to dusk
Made any day first rate.

With straps around my ankles tight,
On eight wheels I would fly.
I'd not a care or worry then
As hours drifted by.

I kept my trusty skate key near
And always at the ready,
In case the clamps would get too loose,
And I'd become unsteady.

I sometimes skated with my friends.
Of races, we had many,
And I felt sure in all of them,
I looked like Sonja Henie.

In summer, gentle zephyrs blew
To send me on my way.
In autumn, crunchy, falling leaves
Across my path would stray.

I'd even skate on coldest days.
For bold winds, I'd prepare,
Then waddle like a penguin would
In my warm winter wear.

Unlike the postman, I was stayed
By sleet and snow and rain.
I'd peer through windows while I wished
To skate outside again.

In spring when flowers danced by me,
On skates, I danced along,
And when the birds began to sing,
I'd join them with my song.

I took an awful fall one time
While skating down a hill.
Though bruised, I wouldn't let myself
Be hampered by a spill.

In memory, I'm like a bird
When on my skates I soar.
I twist and turn and glide and dip
As I am young once more.