scenic roads

i hardly ever get back there
not far
it's just that my life is down here
among the present and living
away from that mountain where i grew up
where i once lived with a different family
a different place i called home for so long
where woods surrounded us
where a boy could really play
yards strewn with bikes and balls
i drove down those roads today
took a few short detours
and found little had changed
the narrow roads
the shaded lanes
the rock mountain houses
our old brick home
where strangers now live
i drove by slowly
as if by my father's grave
only a few minutes ago
the hill where we fought to be king
rolled down
ascended laughing
slid down
in cardboard boxes
that hill
now someone else's property
the family i once knew now
dead or middle aged
just passing through
being overtaken
slightly overwhelmed
by all the old faint and familiar
that still remain
strangers now inhabit the land now
all our old neighbors gone
all gone
the yards seemed the same
most of the places haven't changed
the numbers remain
same homes
less trees
so many memories passed by and waved
ghost that only i can see