Modern parents are afraid to let their children roam,
Not even on the daily trek to school and back to home.
In their own youth some rode a bike while most just used their feet.
Good exercise was earned each day just walking on the street.
But now we see a waiting throng outside each school’s front gate.
Parental cars all ready, hoping their kids won’t be late.
For even after school today the children are not free
They go to netball, scouts or squash, swimming or rugby.
Today the traffic is obscene; the roads are choked and slow.
You need to multiply the time to get from go to whoa.
The bus lanes and the bike lanes are attempts to ease the crush
But only staying home will make much diff’rence to the rush.
Crawling round a roundabout, then stop/start down the straight.
Everybody driven by the fear of being late.
Impatient drivers duck and dive but seldom make a gain
That’s worth the stress and agro that’s involved in changing lanes.
The radio informs us of disasters on the way
Advising us of detours to reduce the new delay.
A breakdown or an accident can cause us all to stop
While sirens sound the message “Let me through for I’m a cop”