The City Has Changed

Mona Mehas

the city where I grew up

has changed for the better

I don’t remember coffee shops

where poets read their work

or parks with gazebos

where drummers taught children

I recall empty storefronts

and homeless people on park benches

the nicer parts of town were hidden

or possibly off limits

growing up poor produced a mindset

difficult to leave behind

the place has had an upgrade

but I’ve moved away

I visit friends from childhood

my hometown seems foreign

turn back time to the days of my youth

I want the new town

an area rich in culture and art

music flowing from shop doors

I want to grow up there

in that improved city

perhaps then I would change

for the better

"The City Has Changed" is a poem about the breakthrough experiences that made me see my hometown in a different light. For a while, I refused to believe it but after more time, I finally opened my eyes.