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Flowers and Toys at the Roadside.
by Darren Swift
It did not take long for them to forget,
the flowers strewn by bitter winter winds,
eaten by passing sheep, the cellophane
ripped and torn by blown branches.
Nature desecrated the personal shrine,
the people left behind shat on the altar
of not remembering, not cleaning,
not visiting. The dead watch on.
The lamp post holds a teddy bear,
a withered bouquet clings to painted
metal, fortified against the elements
by garish garage forecourt plastic.
We, the living, drive by each day
watching the memories fade, wondering
what made the survivors cease their worship.
Then, like everyone else, simply forget.
03/24/2007 Posted on 03/24/2007
Copyright © 2024 Darren Swift
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Michelle Angelini on 03/24/07 at 05:32 AM I've seen too many of these and had the same thoughts myself. Yet are those who are gone ever really forgotten? Don't they live on in the minds and hearts of those who love them? Yes, it's sad to see these memorials, but even when those we love are gone, life goes on. It's something I had to learn myself this past year in an intensely personal way - yet, still I cry sometimes.
~Chelle~ |
| Posted by Tony Whitaker on 03/24/07 at 08:37 AM Where in the hell did you come from? This is absolutley stunning. As Michelle states, how many times have we rerun this same memory as we have seen the roadside shrines fall into disrepair, then disappear? Another one for my faves! |
| Posted by Laura Doom on 03/27/07 at 11:30 PM I guess nature has something to say about civilisation. Intelligent exposition of the subject matter, and effective, in presenting this scenario and leaving it to the reader to draw their own conclusions. |
| Posted by Maureen Glaude on 03/28/07 at 12:54 PM A very profound and important message here. Beautifully depicted. It made me think of the tribute spots we've had along highways here, after accidents, and even at murder scenes along bushy trails. People have a huge need to commemorate, and others must respect that. |
| Posted by Paganini Jones on 08/13/07 at 07:59 PM This is too good to not work on...
May I? I feel the last verse could be tightened up (eg to "then we too simply forget") I also wonder if this is one of the rare occasions when flipping to past tense for this verse would add power? ("We, the living, drove by each day
watching the memories fade, wondering
what made the survivors cease their worship.
Then, we too, simply forgot.") Just a thought. Ignore me if it isn't helpful... |
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