I Lived Here Once

Lived Here Once

I lived here once
Ten, twenty, thirty
Was it, could it be
Almost forty years ago
My wild and crazy youth.

The best of years
Or the worst
Oh, so very hard to say
Can a block of time
Be categorized so simply.

Or was it not the place
Or even the companions
Some band and some good
But an age, the times, and yours
The seventies and your twenties.

Yes, I lived here once
In so many ways so familiar
And now at times so strange
I've looked at those vistas
Driven that road.

It was once so much narrower
But weren't we all
Our trim days of youth
Spent drinking tequilla
Smoking pot.

Where did those dangerous curves go
On both the road and our bodies
Our flaunting of speed limits
And societal norms
We have grown up and the neighborhood out.

Oh, Yes, I lived here once
Before Bella Vista was torn down
And when the Triangle Market was at the triangle
When Pete's was Pete's
And we all wished for a deli.

It isn't Salsalito just yet
But getting oh, so close
The rebels are hard to find
But no longer too far out to invite for tea
There are three delis now

Tequilla and brownies
Are now wine and cheese
Coffee and bagels with lowfat cream cheese
Once seven bars and one church
Now the reverse, is that good?

Thirty eight years ago I moved here
Thirty two I moved away
Taking memories
Some good, some bad
Which don't always fit with my returns.

Yes, I lived here once
And parts of me have moved on
But some of me lingers
Reluctant to leave
There were good times here.

My rebellious youth
Has also gone the way of the neighborhood
My bell bottom figure belled
Too many delis and cafe lattes
Too little speed.

I lived here once
The neighborhood is not the same
But then again neither am I
The 60's are not my 20's
The 70's are long gone.

(c) Jacqui Binford-Bell

The opening picture is called Rural Route and is one of my "hill and dale" paintings. They are of no place specific but just generally northern New Mexico rural areas.