Berkeley Calling Me
Berkeley Beckoning Me
I grew up
In Berkeley, California
In the early 70s
A wild and crazy time
Berkeley shaped my soul
And my heart will always
Long for my home land
Berkeley was always
A wild and zany place
Filled with original characters
Drawn to the city by the bay
The hills overlooking the city
The campus filled with students
The downtown shopping area
The suburban housing
The street people
The vendors on Telegraph
The smell of marijuana
Hanging in the air
Long before it was legal
In some ways
Berkeley seems stuck
In a time wrap
A certain corner
Seems to be forever
Stuck in 1969
The city has changed
Over the years
Like most places
It has become harder
And harder for the working class
To afford to live there
The yuppies took over
Decades ago
But despite that the city
Continues to be home
To a diverse population
Little India emerged
Along with Berkeley’s Chinatown
The old black neighborhoods
Still manages to somehow
Thrive amid the gentrification
And so as my life winds down
My thoughts keep returning
To my ancestral home
The homeland
Where I wish to die
Copyright © Jake Aller | Year Posted 2021
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