manny moreno

From this center of the universe
in the heart of Livingston
where Twilight Zone
can't bust a grape
I drive through now and then
for old time's sake,

but it's not like it was back
in the days of Leave it to Beaver,
when ethyl was two-bits a gallon,
a Superman comic a dime,
two-flicks, popcorn and a pop
ran less than a buck at Court Theater,

it's not as it was
when cousins and I
romped like young deer,
mirroring through time
past mom and pop
storefront windows
like Rex-all and the Five and Dime,

when there wasn't much crime,
when there wasn't any texting,
when there wasn't any ATM in any store,
when there wasn't everyone-and -their- mama
had a cell phone nailed on their ears.

These are different times,
technology and the way
things used-to-be
war with each other,
and we the people
are the ping-pong ball.