I went straight home after school.
Looking back, it probably wasn’t so bad.
There weren’t many things to see outside.
What I missed was no big deal for a lad.

I got home, got down to homework, or teevee
or comic books or some other kind of fun.
Just me and the shadows and the locks.
There wasn’t anyone.

It was some kind of latchkey life back in those grade school days
when I got home at three oh seven. Always.
I would call my mother at her job after locking the door
and I’d let her know that I was safe forevermore.

Out of my mother’s window I could look down
and I could see a nearby building’s small park.
It was semi-fenced in, but a lot of the neighbor kids
would congregate there and hang, well after dark.
I might recognize the shapes of boys and girls from school
but it was far too far away for me to shout
but there might be a point where I did not
go home after school and could stay out.

Back in the grade school days, when I was young you know
I was living that total kind of latchkey life.
When I raced to get home to call my Mom and calm her down.
With fear for safety, those days were certainly rife.