Brighter Poetics

My neighborhood is nothing like the one that I moved out of

Twelve years ago

Back then, there was never a dull moment

It’s not that way now – good? I guess so

I was so much younger then, newly married

Oh, what a time it was – didn’t get much sleep

No kids, partying, staying out late

The only young married couple on our street

He went to work, I stayed home

Cooking and cleaning our little love nest

I tried working for awhile

But we decided that my staying home would be best

There were a bunch of little kids always hanging  around

They were so much fun to watch out for

While playing right in front of my apartment

Occasionally knocking on my door

I would read stories to them and sometimes break up their little spars

They always came to me for band-aids

To cover their scrapes, cuts, and scars

When they wanted candy, they knew that they could come to me

I always kept a stash for when they showed up

It wasn’t that they couldn’t buy their own

I guess they just needed some time with a grown-up

I would check their homework and help them with their math

Telling them to always do better than a C

They hung on to my every word

Even called me Auntie

I wonder where those kids are now

What did they do with their lives

Why would someone have all those kids

But not help them to thrive

Where I live now is quite different

I now have my own children to raise

They will never need a play auntie

To show them love in their young days

I will watch them grow, learn and play

In my own back yard

I am their teacher

When their homework is hard

They have their mama to rely on

At any given time

My neighborhood is nothing like the old one

The kids I love now are mine