My Home Town

MY HOME TOWN by JOHN M. ARRIBAS Time moves on never stands still It changes the outcome no matter the will Of the dreamers who hold on to and then Each moment happens once then never again I had a feeling this trip was not wise Reviving old memories, my golden prize I drove all night got here near dawn This wonderful place where I was born I notice the houses along the route Most look abandoned weeds all about The old cattle house is shuttered down A desolate feeling fills lacking of sound The roof is sagging the signs are faint The entire building in dire need of paint The old cattle stalls have fallen over Wires are rusted and where is the drover This auction house been here for many a year I can still hear auctioneer loud and clear I am anxiously waiting to see my old town The sights that I witness are dragging me down Its mid morning in town, no ones in sight Stores are closed shut and boarded up tight The only gas station in deplorable condition It looks like the fifties in total remission The main intersection has only one light Amber on both sides blinks red at night As I wind my way to the old home stead I see shabby houses the feeling is dread Farms look abandoned on both sides of the road The fields are barren no crops have been sowed I turn a hard left down this old country lane My memories are different, yet the place is the same I can see the crop duster’s hangar a derelict hut There are no planes, no props not a rusty strut I stop at the place where my house once stood Nothing , a burned out shell, a few pieces of wood My home town (2) I’m not quite sure that I can fully digest My memories of where my life was the best Were they real or just a hopeful illusion Were my recollections real or wishful confusion I’ve been robbed of cherished childhood scenes That carried me forward, my personal dreams Was the picket fence as white as I deemed Or did I exaggerate , to think it pristine My eye spots an old face its sam I think Hello sam I said he gave a smile and a wink Tell me sam what the heck happened here Where’s the warmth , the joy all the good cheer Well I’ll tell you as best I can relate It didn’t take long to reach this deplorable state About twelve years ago, they opened a store At highway eleven and state road twenty four They sold everything that one could consume Two acres under roof and lots more room That was the beginning the first step to the end The local business owners couldn’t contend The myriad of products and really cheap You can shop all night no need to sleep One by one the local shops had to close There were no jobs ,unemployment rose This wasn’t restricted to our little town Same condition happened for miles around With no businesses to pay local taxes Services and utilities were put to the axes Things were paid from a volunteer fund This entire area proclaimed to be moribund I wonder how many had to say good bye To family, friends, due to goods from shanghai But here is the best part which is hardly known Government gave them the land in a tax free zone They won’t have to pay taxes that’s a hell of a deal That’s almost like issuing a license to steal