My Town

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

That was Gracie's Bar and Grill. It shuttered when she died.
The place where you could eat your fill; she kept it cool inside.
That was Jerry's Country Store. We'd ride our bikes down here.
Buy soda pop and gum and more, and later bought our beer.
Over there the five and dime closed up some years ago.
The hardware store, now black with grime, was once the place to go
To fix that busted water pipe, or buy some nails or nuts.
Repair advice without the hype; all gone since it was shut.
Now we got the Dollar Store, a Dollar General, too.
One gas station does for four; not folks enough for two.
This ain't the only little town to slowly waste away.
It weren't a place of great renown; it's home that's why I stay.
I don't get why it has to go the way of dinosaurs.
I ain't the one who's in the know; my education's poor.
It hurts to sit and watch it die a little more each year.
It doesn't help to moan or cry as my town disappears.