You Can’t Go Home Again!

I get so melancholy sometimes, dwelling so much on the past,

Remembering friends of childhood, & the true ones that last.

I think of teachers I once had, & wonder if they’re still around.

When I look back, I remember fondly, my beloved old coal town.

The people there were friendly & very sweet and kind.

Most the women didn’t have jobs & men worked in the mines.

Back then, the town was flourishing with factories and the mines,

The quaint downtown was a jumpin’ with all their five and dimes.

The train tracks ran right through the town & the train whistles blew.

I wondered many times, what the town was like brand new.

Because of all the coal in town and smoke from the factories,

It wasn’t the cleanest little town, but it had lovely trees.

The last time I was there, I was shocked to my very soul.

The town I loved was gone, and depression took its toll.

The movie theaters I knew and loved, were no longer there.

Everything had changed so much, & no one seemed to care.

The first school I started in, was completely torn down and gone.

The list of treasures I had lost that day, was simply too, too long.

It is so true that you can’t go back & expect things to be the same.

For when I left my beloved town, I didn’t even know my name.

Written with sadness for a town I loved.

Written by, Bonnie May