Rememberance Poem by Brian Hinckley

I remember a time
when the lights
in the sky
were stars;
not planes.
When the roads
were lined with
bikes and people;
not trash and drug dealers.
When schools were safe,
or at least safer;
and children did not hide in fear,
but played until the twilight.

So long ago,
but only a few years passed by,
our lives have changed so much.
Our obsession with ourselves,
deep seeded and problematic,
hid these changes
in plain sight.

What is the answer,
if there even is one?
If simple words,
written by someone as simple as me,
could solve these problems,
I would no longer have to remember
a time when the lights in the sky
were only stars.