Ashland, Ohio

If love were enough,
if the warmth of remembering a time spent
came in the form of solid currency,
there would be more than enough funding
I would be able to mend this city's broken sidewalks
put bandaids on all the children's knees,
rebuild doorways into office buildings
If only it were enough,
I could do it single handedly
for every family too poor to leave
and for everyone too rich to look back on simplicity
for all my neighbors who had enough character
to raise a community of children
For all my spirit to be poured into that town
that storm cloud town with it's dirty gray walls
foundations too weak, pushing into the ground from the weight,
and broken down factories, windows waiting to be broken
with bricks from it's own walls...
But remember what we did there? The summer mornings?
Broken bike wheels, dogs attacking toys left on playgrounds,
mothers calling kids home from front porches,
the overhang of trees shading roads,
the hospital expected children with no shoes
the schools bought our supplies and places pencils in our hands,
there have been no other summer evenings to compare,
no evil thunderstorms, no lilac bushes, no heat waves
even come close to what hid within the walls of that town
yeah, if love were enough, if love were enough.