ProsePower! ode to joyce

The neighborhood was so simple then

When we became friends

I had just moved to this place where I didn't want to be

Your house was next to the school

And I thought it was cool

That we could go over and play on the monkey bars 'til dark

Do you remember when we use to play bus?

And your foster mother use to fuss

Cause we use to make so much noise on that big couch?

And mmmm didn't those berries in that cake smell good

But it was understood

That we couldn't eat it, cause it was made of mud

We would go to Oklahoma City where

At your foster mother's friend's house, there

And going to the in Tulsa was always fun

But I wonder if I was the only one

Who watched the Golden Driller out the window til he disappeared.

But as we got older and such

We kind of lost touch

And we didn't hang out much any more.

Your foster mother's husband died

And even though in the past she had tried

She just couldn't take care of you any more.

I stopped by and visited you at your new place

And I could see life's unkindness in your face

I was bittersweet on your new living arrangement

Right then I wished you could come live with me

But life at my house was becoming no pedigree

Our neighborhoods were no longer simple but now complex.