The empty blocks of land
in darkness they sit
Was never seen before.
The homes and houses of families,
the laughter and the chat
Is what was here before.
The mangled letterboxes
In crumbling broken driveways
Were never here before.
How does the postman
Manage that?
He needn't had to worry before.
The views right down
to the lake,
We never had that before.
The houses we wait
for their return,
Won't be like that of before.
The noise from distant traffic
No longer buffered by trees,
Was never heard before.
The silence in the empty neighborhood
Sounds like nothing here before.
The sorrow inside of me
I have never carried
Like this before.
It still comes and goes,
No rhyme or reason
It never hurt like this before.
Who would have thought
that time
Could be so solidly split
By a word like "before".
Its meaning so defining
Living with us forever after
Continually playing
In our minds
The yearning to get back
To our "before".