|
Macy's Big Move
by Kristina Woodhill
Macy's moved out of its old locale
out to the freeway mall,
fancy big new sprawl, a visible hook
crass huge signs that shine
even at blinking freeway speeds;
the little sports authority even booked
a gig there, hey, listen up! giving its
name a Sports Authority capitalization;
they're in the game now,
by god!
they call themselves players! untie
the tourniquet, Biff, Bam, Pow!
JC Penney signed on a few years ago;
the lonely bull, muffled lowing,
roaming an empty paved arena
lit up with echoes
like a stadium knowing
it booked the losers' games;
back at the old locale,
that brand new valley mall
of 1980something fame,
so many recent face lifts applied,
gimmicks injected into thin-lipped
flapping faces
of nouveau corporate bucks,
raising rents and rules
to vendors with worn-out spaces,
old hungry man
old saggy pants and last week's
bag hag
missed the city bus
this go 'round, still scratching heads,
tearing at peeking toe tags,
talking to all the people
in the big black windows
in the big black stores
needing a simple afternoon bench,
tapping, tapping
at the stone-faced doors
11/25/2009
Posted on 11/25/2009
Copyright © 2025 Kristina Woodhill
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by V. Blake on 11/25/09 at 06:24 PM "lit up with echoes / like a stadium knowing / it booked the losers' games;" Awesome lines, and a great write altogether. |
| Posted by George Hoerner on 11/25/09 at 08:08 PM I love it Kristina. Our Macy's in Detroit used to be called Hudson’s, twelve stories of stuff. My best friend and I would take the bus about 20 miles or so downtown to look at the window decorations and then shop with what little money we had. Memories, memories. We never thought about the bottom line that seems to have put so many of the memories out of business or nearly so and the rest of us just remembering when.... Very nice. |
| Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 11/26/09 at 01:11 AM God, imagine the stories from throughout the years old hungry, man old saggy pants and last week's bag hag could captivate us with. They've seen it all, they have. My yon poet stirs me with her whirls ;) |
| Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 11/26/09 at 10:03 AM I'm with Jill (Ooo!) Really, they would never suspect, I guess, that thier rag-tag slog-a-day lives would ever be so noticed, so truly poetic. You've worded a wonderland of timely verse here. I appreciate it muchly. Happy Thanksgiving. G |
| Posted by Glenn Currier on 11/30/09 at 02:27 AM There is something tragic about the old malls fading into oblivion. There is one near me that is just barely hanging on, the big names having moved to more independent-seeming spaces. It is strange how these places are not just capitalist ventures, but wind their way into our psyches. Thanks for the visit. |
|
