Robison

My first steps were here

Rudimentary flowerbed curb appeal

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Kitchen carpet memory crystal clear

Warm on my feet awaiting a meal

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Homemade basketball hoop

Welded by dad with care

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Wasp nest under the stoop

Knocked it down on a dare

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Windows at the corner store—barred

One of five dogs fetching a stick

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The mulberry tree in the yard

Eat unripe fruit until we made ourselves sick

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Bicycle jumps over dirt piles and skids

Walkie talkies, hide-and-seek—gone

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Playing with the neighborhood kids

Until the street lights came on

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Misread as “Robinson”

More often than not

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Kids racing barefoot in unison

On the neighboring lot

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Drinking water from a garden hose

After eating green onions covered in dirt

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Where did Scottie hide—no one knows

Eleven seekers, but not one shirt

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This corner of the world was home

I ran from as soon as I could

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I think about here whenever I roam

Thoughts of a return and if I should

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It no longer looks the same

Years of overgrowth cover the view

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Time moving on is to blame

What once was—must have ran away too