Thomas Wolfe was right.


Oak Street

Houses don't have shutters anymore
And streets aren't made of bricks,
Chipped and rounded at the edges,
Mortared by dead leaves and weeds.
The worn cobbled chinks of childhood
That bounded a whole world then.

Even sidewalks, the common paths
That connected us to common ground,
Have disappeared, each house now
As unconnected as the lives we guard
As though there is safety in separation.

But here nothing much has changed
In the fifty years that I've been gone.
Fewer lighted windows and open doors
Perhaps, and if there are children
Now they no longer play after dark.
At the end of the block is the same
Leaning street light, the sidewalk
Uprooted by linden and sycamore.

And you realize you can go back again
But never come back, and you're not sure
You would want to; what's changed is you.
It all seems a little too sad and old now
And reminds you too much of yourself.
Even your words don't belong anymore
And you're lost in an old man's poem.




Poetry by countryfog
Read 535 times
star mini Editors' choice
Written on 2010-12-24 at 15:36

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John Ashleigh The PoetBay support member heart!
Congratulations on the editors choice, so well deserved. A pleasure to read.

Regards,
John.
2011-01-06


josephus The PoetBay support member heart!
There is melancholy here but also warmth and serenity borne of acceptance. Going back is sometimes a necessary exercise in order to move forward. An old man's poem is still a poem and new in its insight.
2011-01-02


Doreen Cavazza
This is amazing. The melancholy feeling is just spot on, the description is wonderful. This reminds me so much of when I visited my childhood neighborhood and felt at a loss because, though it was the same, it wasn't the same. Your ending stanza is spot on. Bravo! A fantastic write.
2011-01-02


Editorial Team The PoetBay support member heart!
This text has been chosen to be featured on the front page of PoetBay. Thank you for posting it on our poetry web site.
2010-12-31


Brian Oarr
I nominate this piece for "Poem of the Year". I've tried to write this theme numerous times, but never succeeded in pulling it off. You not only pulled it off, you stuck the landing!

Kudos to the poet!

Brian
2010-12-26


Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
I could go on and on, but I won't. I'll just say this: I got to your final stanza, read it, and thought, "exactly."
2010-12-25