I used to walk my hometown main street Take my time, meander a bit, no car needed, just my feet From one end to the other unencumbered by crowds When everyday life was not so atrociously loud.
When one strip of shops held everything needed Where window shopping was unimpeded Unless you happened to meet a friend on the way And that chance meeting just brightened your day.
I think of my Dad and what he would say How his lifelong haunt has gotten this way How the grocer and butcher are now part of a mall Friendly greetings are gone, he’d be appalled.
As a kid I climbed rocks where river meets sea And loved nothing more than climbing a tree The magical one at the home of my friend Where we travelled the world until almost day’s end.
And a whistle call beckoned me home.
Riding my bike, being out and about On the street with my friends or just hanging out In their backyard or maybe the park And then hightailing it home before it got dark.
I now live in a city and at the end of the day There is hustle and bustle and I want to say, Slow down, step lightly, look at the faces, smile at a few You never know, they may smile at you too.
My hometown has changed, the shops rearranged Riverside rocks replaced by a road, stories of old may never be told It now has a new crowd, the old mostly gone It’s hard to believe that I used to belong.
