Riverside

I dumped out a box of old

family photographs

spread them out across my bed

Grandpa Lou

you wouldn’t believe just how

much this place has changed

and I hate to say

that this city lost it’s shine

and the sense of style

and class it had back then

overrun with greed

spending the money they don’t have

to buy the things they’ll die before they need

I’m only sure I need a change of scenery

Every week’s the same

I can’t stand to waste another day

complaining but making no real attempt to be different

when I finally leave this town

I’ll take the interstate right down the coast

and maybe I’ll head west

to figure out the next spot to call my home

Never forget

the way the brightest stars

lit up the balcony of my apartment

on my last night

I looked up at that sky

and realized the change had been in me

somewhere along the way

started making sense of all the things I’ve heard

it’s not about where your time is spent

it’s what you choose to do with it