Happy #NationalPoetryMonth! I never celebrate April Fools’ Day, but this I can get behind. Here’s something I wrote earlier today and thought I’d share it. Enjoy!
My Town
In the town where I live
We can walk to wherever we’d like without hassle,
But we drive. It’s faster.
In the town where I live
The diner opens before most of us wake up
To accommodate the farmers and other hardworking people.
In the town where I live
There used to be several movie theaters.
I don’t know where they went.
I never saw them.
I don’t know where they used to be, either.
No one kept a record of the things that aren’t around anymore but that I would have liked to see.
In my town the storms come from the south and the west.
In my town the trees are fewer and farther between than I remember.
In my town the sidewalks break and disappear beneath hungry grass.
In my town I can see the passage of history and where the future stopped.
In my town there are three gas stations:
North end of town, center of town, and south. We use the center station.
The north station is janky. The south station belongs to the co-op.
In my town I don’t recognize the people.
In my town they would not recognize me.
My town added fast-food restaurants and a dollar store.
My town replaced the elementary school.
I do not live there anymore.
April 1st, 2019
The Favoring Wind 