The children's playground recently reopened
and now the happy voices of youngsters
reaffirm the best sound of the city.
Years ago, before the park was polluted
by drugs, menacers, violence,
families and singles enjoyed the escape
from gasoline streets and stifling rooms
to a small, safe patch of urban green.

Once I brought my daughter to this park,
until our elected guardians
closed the upstate mental institutions
and sent the patients to the big city
without funds, friends, jobs, homes, help,
and the sandbox became the outhouse,
as users squatted in the finest open space
that a city can provide, a public park.

The drug peddlers blighted the day,
muggers and sex peddlers stole the night,
until citizens made the effort
to reclaim the park for the people.
They succeeded and things improved.
Families returned, while singles sit and read.
But we should never forget
that government alone can't save a park.