Walkin’ Through the Village

Walkin’ through the village after dark, Work boots crunch past the park. Porch light blinkin’ near building six, Kids still outside while the shouting hits. Cheque day Friday — whole block alive, Beer store bags and a hundred bikes. Cop car crawl while the dogs all bark, Everybody watchin’ once it gets dark. Unit twelve got another hole punched in, Same couple fightin’ like last weekend. Little kid peek through the window blinds, Already numb to all the fights. I used to think I could change that place, Young guy talkin’ ‘bout goals and faith. Twenty years later I learned one truth: You can patch walls… You can’t patch roots. ⸻ Chorus Walkin’ through the village after dark, Porch lights flicker by the park. Kids on bikes while the parents fight, Cop car crawlin’ slow tonight. Walkin’ through the village all these years, Seen hard lives, smoke and tears. Fixed broken homes out in the rain… Still watched the same cycles stay the same. ⸻ Spring thaw hit — garbage lined the rows, Basketball bounce near the potholes. Kicked-in doors and backed-up drains again, Work orders stacked up again. Some homes smelled like dinner cooked, Kids doin’ homework by the books. Single moms workin’ every shift they can, Still tryna build a bigger plan. Then two doors down whole different scene, Curtains shut at two-fifteen. Ashtray full on the porch rail ledge, Teenagers smokin’ by the dumpster fence. I started knowin’ who really cared, Who wanted out and who stayed there. Who blamed life for every scar, Who spent cheque money at the beer store bar. Summer nights loud through the townhouse rows, BBQ smoke and barking dogs. Little kids run through sprinklers soaked, Teenagers stand around blowin’ smoke. That place messed with my head sometimes, Too much sadness mixed with normal life. Little girl drawin’ chalk on the curb, While cops ask neighbors what they heard. Cause every kid grows into what they see, That’s just reality. And if all you know is stress and fights, That becomes your normal life. ⸻ Chorus Walkin’ through the village after dark, Porch lights flicker by the park. Kids on bikes while the parents fight, Cop car crawlin’ slow tonight. Walkin’ through the village all these years, Seen hard lives, smoke and tears. Fixed broken homes out in the rain… Still watched the same cycles stay the same. ⸻ One kid used to follow me around, Ask me questions every time I worked around. “How pipes work?” “Why walls crack?” Always curious, always attached. Few years later I barely knew his face, Hood pulled low standin’ near the same place. Same anger I seen a hundred times, Same empty look behind the eyes. That one stayed with me all these years, More than the fights and broken mirrors. Cause after enough time goes by, You realize places raise people too. Winter came — snow piled high, Half the cars wouldn’t start outside. I’d haul salt through the freezing wind, Fix frozen pipes in unit ten. And honestly, not everybody failed. Some fought hard and finally bailed. Some beat addiction, changed their path, Some moved away and never came back. But others got comfortable staying stuck, Waiting every month for another truck. Another cheque. Another excuse. Another year with nothing new. ⸻ Final Chorus Walkin’ through the village one last time, Cold wind cut through the night. Kids on bikes just like before, Same busted fence by the parking lot. Walkin’ through the village older now, Less talkin’ big, more lookin’ down. Twenty years carrying stress and pain… Still watched the same cycles stay the same. ⸻ Last day there I packed my things up, Old work orders scattered around. Thousands of repairs through twenty years, Still felt like nothing changed there. Different families, different names, Same little kids in the same old lanes. And I went in thinkin’ I’d fix homes… Not realize some people never get shown another road.