i see roots grow through sidewalks
in search of rain
and endless puddles
the truck throws up a waterfall
as the wipers push back
suddenly the world returns
i see houses of bare bones
2X4's and pipes
wires crackling in silence
i watch the masses move
through the hallways of their lives
coughing into worn out hands
nights lit in the fluttering hopes
of new hair and whiter teeth
fitful dreams on sagging recliners
watching entire lives
in my mind's theater
played out, sliver at a time
old men, in sleep reaching over
arms of couches to pat
dogs in piles of bones on the floor
the drooping weight
in the lungs of diner waitresses
pulling life through paper straws
the drip, drip, drop
of every faucet
in every house
raining down on me
i turn off the wipers
and let the fog roll back in
A contest entry
- Finally Get the Medal You Deserve! by TabbyJoy.
475 points, ended February 14, 2008, 23 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
-
Great imagery throughout this piece. Your observations on humanity were detailed. I've met the people you described here. I liked how you brought this poem full-circle back to the narrator. Very creative. Thanks for entering!
-
Social commentary in intense imagery,
coined by the astute obeserver,
gifted in the way of storied words.
Your words play out as a documentary
interpreting the streets of life
in superb poetic form.
Outstanding!
Aesthete
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