You’ve come a long way
from the pet roaches behind the table
there in back, where they hissed in their tank
and the scent of damp wood clung to our nostrils.

You’ve come a long way
from gigs that brought the ceiling down
on  70’s garb and silly teenagers
experiencing a music “scene” for the first time.

There are no more flannel shirts, or western boots
or kindly old men talking through mush-mouthed words
that only our father seemed to understand. Those days
are gone much like our childhood,

yet still…..

you’ve come a long way and at least you’re still standing.
They won’t kill you off like your neighbor who burnt down behind your eyes.
No,You’re made of tougher things then that, and
you have a way about you that charms,
rather than repels.

You’ve dressed in new attire now,

The old memories are here,
your bones are still yours,
though you seem to have a new addiction,
to caffeine and the bean.