Where I Used To Live

Sneakers pad on sidewalk Bikes ride Kids play on the green plastic structure Happy Surrounded by apartments and neighbors Safe in the square of buildings I watch I have lived here for years My siblings have lived here for years I remember Dad telling me When I was not born, he and Mom moved All the way across Canada To here The buildings we cried, laughed and lived in The swings on one side of the playground Where my dad pushed me on Chinese New Year The blue zip line where my friends and I Would search for pebbles And lay them out in the sun The monkey bars where me and my friend Saw the sunset for the very first time The green playground where we played hide and seek And now my family is ready to leave it behind A fresh start To Crawfordsville Three hours has never seemed so far away Friends give gifts Tell jokes Laugh with us Making the best of the time we have left I am only five But big enough to understand I am leaving these memories behind My throat seems to close in And I gaze at my community My neighbors My friends They may not be family But they feel like it These are the people who raised me These are the people who cared And even though I do not live here I will forever call it home And years later When the green structure crumbles And my old apartment falls I will still remember My home