I
The mulch was freshly laid a couple of weeks ago, young trees are
already sprouting, though life will be short lived as they are out of place
Nips and discarded cans litter the road, discarded by those who wanted
to spend some time, or more time avoiding, or trying to find a happy place
Middle schoolers get to choose one of 6 books to read this summer,
to meet in the middle come September, and not feel out of place
Pickups pulling trailers crammed with lawn equipment, mowers & blowers,
They’re going to trim the growth and create the look of everything in its place
Raised garden beds, nurturing vegetables, and greens within their wooden
walls, carefully tended, the growth cultivated to not feel out of place
Pickleball courts are busy, follow the sounds of the racket, you’ll be able
to understand about where the ball will land within its place
II
“Ya know what I mean” potentially leaves the conversation just hanging
there, until the other agrees, or clarifies, what might be out of place
Does level service mean that what we were getting will continue,
or that paying for it, is something that for the majority, is out of place
Black shirt, black pants; subtle indication that my body is in morning,
that the imagined world might not be able to hold us in its place
The demand for housing is growing, faster than the green that can
be controlled, we need to face the reality that folks need to have a place
Two sided conversations rally around the topic, and many times insults fly back
and forth, oh, please stop; we need to find a common place
Together we can do much more than any one alone, together we can create
a world where our neighbors won't feel out of place
So Sherlock, how do we get neighbors from all sides to come
together, to develop a solution that works for us in this, our place
