Invisible Landmarks of Love
Right down the street
In the middle of town
Past the library and Dairy Queen
You’re gonna come up on
The intersection of 59 and 6
And you’re gonna need to turn left
And it ain’t gonna be marked.
It’s just a little two-lane county road
But you’ll see it -
You just make a left at the gazebo.
Nope, there’s no stop sign.
City hall is right there on your right,
But your best bet
Is simply to look for the gazebo…
That’s what we used to tell people,
But that’s the great thing about a small town.
Now we just say:
Yeah, turn where the gazebo used to be
And you’ll get there.
That’s the fun of small towns
And landmarks -
They stick around long past their expiration date
And nobody quite forgets them,
Just like the E.B. loves J.C. carved in the oak tree
Up on Mill Road opposite where the gazebo was laid to rest.
I love small towns, and your poem evokes the quirks of one. So nice to read you. peace...
ReplyDeleteSmall towns and small cities. You have hit the mark with this one. The personal note at the end takes the feeling right into the heart. So right, and damn near perfectly expressed. Brava, Bolton!
ReplyDeleteI liked being reminded of the way places where we grew up impact on our lives so indelibly and the references are based on visual evidence rather than the written so very often. This piece had me mentally returning to a small Hertfordshire village
ReplyDeleteYes, conversational! :) And that's the thing about important intersections and landmarks huh - they're often not marked.... It's a good thing for gazebos. :)
ReplyDeleteyou listen to the poetry coming out of everyday mouths- this poem is a nice example.
ReplyDeletemy g-ma lived in such a town but it did have stop signs. locals used to tell you to turn left after the last stop sign...but...uh,...only the locals knew when they'd gone through the last stop sign. the rest of us kept driving and wouldn't realize that we'd passed the last stop sign way back behind us.
nice to read you!
sherry o'keefe
I dont think that i would have like to live in a small town. #jteng111
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! You'd be surprised how great they are, but they aren't for everyone. I've lived in a small town and a big city. Small towns make you feel loved. :)
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