Goodbye to 223

I'm not there
But the house still stands
Soaked with memories of
Two little boys running
Up and down the stairs
Heading toward the candy drawer
Hidden in the kitchen

Traces of Buddy, Fred, Ethel, Spike and a few more dogs who called its space home
Two marriages took place within its walls, both starting with high hopes yet failing just the same

Two little boys grew up and flew the confines of mom's house
Where there was once a tumble of teenage friends with unlimited appetites
Had evolved into a house with empty bedrooms
And a woman in her fifties with only her little dog and memories to fill the space

I won't be there this year
To greet 500 trick or treaters
That home of 21 years
Now belongs to someone else
No, I don't want to drive by
And see the gray color it's been painted, the first tree planted chopped down or the updated landscape design
For to me it will always remain
The home that held just a mom
And her two little boys