Hometown

She wanted to move.

She wanted to try something new.

She wanted to live in San Francisco

in a place with a view.

She wanted the sound. She wanted the life all around.

She wanted the fun and the action of a livelier town,

but he...

He would still disagree,

'cause he loved the stillness of morning

and the wind in the trees.

He needed the stars. He needed to say: "This is ours."

And look at a field and a pasture

and a road with no cars.

He wanted a farm. He wanted a horse in a barn.

He wanted a life in the country, far from the town,

so they...

They chose to stay;

they found a place where they hoped

they might both have their way.

Surprise! But that compromise

was a life in the suburbs

that they both could despise

with nothing of either, yes and too much of each.

The things that they wanted were both out of reach:

No land for the garden, but too far from the stores.

No new folk to talk to, but loud neighbors next door.

Though traffic was endless, no one stepped outside.

An outpost of loners who've come there to hide.

Now why they stayed, all those years,

the answer can't be found,

but there they were, there they fought,

and there they stood their ground

in my hometown