This Town Used to Run

Corner shop with faded paint / Owner nods but can’t recall my face / Bike rack half as full today / Grass has pushed the chalk away / Football goals once made of coats / Now a parked car blocks the road / Backyard radios once loud / Now just dogs and passing crowds / We were loud and never late / The whole street wide awake / This town used to run / Down the road like a loaded drum / Friday laughter spilling out / From the bar and through the crowd / This town used to run / Like a song that weighed a ton / Now the windows close too soon / And the echoes fade by noon / Bus stop bench where stories grew / Now two old friends and nothing new / Cinema sign with half the bulbs / Selling seats for films long gone / Children pass on smaller bikes / Parents watch with careful eyes / Different faces slower pace / But the street still keeps the place