down route 50

we used to drive
to the eastern shore
through Maryland,
out past Annapolis,
onward to Cambridge
and Berlin,
we'd take a long
day, starting with
the rising sun
and linger
at the stands
along the way.
cukes and melons,
tomatoes,
corn
by the bushels. but
the road is different now.
few billboards.
less dives, less mom
and mom
places
to grab a crab sandwich,
a beer. or to gas up. nobody
asking,
where you from, hon?
the landscape
has changed.
the small towns have become
retirement
stops
for people our age.
gentrified.
the poor villages
once full of fisherman
and shacks,
are monied now.
the houses painted, the yards
squared with iron
fences and flowers.
and when we arrive
at the ocean. straight on
route fifty,
it's a canyon of high
rises.
a six lane highway has
replaced
the narrow road
that ran along the shore.
it's not what it used to be.
nothing really is.
not even us.