What did you see
Down by Pleasant Grove
The scraggly tree
And the Streets that we drove

and that crooked bush
Moves without a push

The sweet rotted boards
and the yellow nails
grass crackled underfoot
whispering forgotten tales

And the skies were dark
the swings broken at the park

The cars that knew the best days
Twenty years ago
faded dreams painted on
going slower slower slow

the door that's permanently stuck
race stripes and darkened trucks

And the fence:
stripped to the core
a glimmer of off-white
we were searching for some more

so we could pretend it's there
pretend somebody cared

The basketball hoop
bare without a net
dead sunlight passes off it
our time was always set

and the ball was always flat
like the dented metal bat

what did you see
on the other side
shiny happy people
with everything to hide

fake smiles plastered on
as they're mowing down their lawns

Neon green grass
and a bleached blue sky
a promise of something better
if we would only try

For your children's children's time
Save a nickel and a dime

If we only had the time
It's not enough to dream
Those houses with the pools
damn that's hard to clean

They had to earn that right
They put up a fight

dad's in rigid khakis
And mother waves away the bus
that drives straight past
our fresh clean dust

The burning white fence
without a second glance

The other side:
We don't exist
you sink that ball
with a flick of your wrist.