It was better then
It was!
I remember it,
clear and cloudless as the skies
that were always blue in those days
bright as the sun
that was always shining
How do I know?
Because I know:
I was there
My neighborhood, like any other
like every other
alive with people strolling down the sidewalk
sitting on porches
ducking into shops filled with things they made here
right here, in town, by us
We helped each other then
We cared for each other
All of us
But those few, the ones you knew about,
the houses that kept their lights off at Halloween
the houses that never decorated for Christmas
that never mowed their grass
or bought cookies
or went to church
They didn’t stay long
No, they knew what was good for them
and that was to get out of town, fast
We didn’t tolerate those sorts of things
But we weren’t special
Everything was like that, those days
Everybody rode bikes
except when you wanted to go to the pool
and your friend’s brother gave you a ride
without wearing seatbelts, because people drove better
The cars didn’t fall apart like they do today
It was a fender-bender, and it bent
not broke into shards of plastic and styrofoam
sprayed across the road
Maybe you got your bell rung,
like playing tackle football after school
but in the car,
Mom’s arm was all the airbag we needed
Everybody shook hands and walked away
and we all saw each other the next fall at school
and the insurance paid for everything
We didn’t worry so much
We all had plenty
Plenty of food at dinner
plenty of channels (22!) on TV
plenty of people just like us
who liked the things we liked
the things you should like
the things you did like
because that’s just what you did
and we all did
There was nothing to worry about
Everything would be fine
Everything was fine
all over
We had it all
all the time in the world
watching the clouds roll
across pure blue skies
