Cherry Blossoms

last weekend was our time here
for the cherry blossoms to bloom

the blossoms bloom in Branch Brook
Park which is in walking distance
from my house, i grew up around this
park as so did my parents

you can drive thru this park, as it
covers two cities Belleville and Newark
i drive thru the park often as there are
no diversions such as lights

my dad walks the track in the park
every morning by the bocce ball courts
were all the Italians play bocce ball

i think of my mom and dad with their
friends "hanging" at Branch Brook Park
and i smile, such a sweet memory they
shared with me

it is a landmark in our county, it has
seen many different ethnicity's throughout
the years, it knows many secrets, including
mine :O)

in the Newark section the park element
has changed, several yrs back i was walking
the track and i see a young man lying in the
middle of the track, as i approach i hear
sirens, i look at the young man and he
is not moving, a passerby tells me that
he is dead and the police have been called

i stood their frozen, unable to move
he could have only been 18
as the police approach, i leave with
this horror of a memory, one that i
will never forgot

you see this park has good and bad
memories for me, just as in life

and every year at this time i make
sure i go to see those wonderful
cherry blossoms and as i walk thru the
park, i think of that young man, never
having a chance in life, which always
makes me grateful for mine~~

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