I saw a bicycle in the road

I saw a bicycle in the road,
By  Degrassi rowed brick workers homes
Two storied, peaked and narrow
Door and window wide,
Near the factories gone,
One hundred years ago,
Now half gentried tony way
Flush houses housing flush.

I saw a bicycle in the road
Before “Degrassi Junior High”
The street name’s TV fame
When son and father came on by
And spoke,
Of how an absent other caused
Its tossed and tumbled state.

I saw a bicycle in the road
When father yelled at son
“Next time kick him when he’s down.”
And wondered what else advised
This boy might chance become,
And perhaps his keeping out of jail
Would be more than I had done.
If this father’s way became the son’s,
The hurdles he must climb
Have heights I’ve have never known,
And may well have faltered in the try.

I see a bicycle in the road,
I smile at my good fortune.
My daughter rides on by.


Note: Degrassi Street in Toronto is like many old neighbourhoods whose houses were bought and gentrified, going through periods of despair side by side with promise. It became famous in a Canadian young adult TV series which continues today.