Streets of an Old Town

I go back unwillingly
To the streets of an old town
Dilapitated buildings
More abandoned than inhabited
The cobblestones in disarray
Long tufts of languishing grass
Struggling for sustenance
Old memories hang in the air
Like stale cooked fish and onions
The faces are long and expectation gone
So many have died from foggy rocks
Haggling gone wrong ending in blood spatter
Thieving and lying more prevalent
Than truth, honesty and happiness.

I go home to the streets of an old town
No longer employing thousands
To haul coal on the rail lines
The wetlands being shaved down
For new strip mall next to strip mall
To employ the customers
Who employ other customers
All going to the same stores and restaurants
Of different names.

On the streets of this old town
My young memories walk to school
And in my nightmares I cannot find it
I walk more in the streets of this old town
Looking for my future self
Begging her not to bring me back here
But she still does.