Out beyond the end of town
Where folks at one time went
Now stands all alone a long-forgotten monument.
No one knows what it was for.
The letters on its side
Long ago were worn away by rain or wind or tide.
For it overlooks the sea
And maybe marks the spot
Where some ship may once have sunk down to its doom. If not
Maybe it commemorates
The founder of the town,
One whose dedication won him praise and much renown,
Or it’s a memorial
From some forgotten war,
Whether for the victors or the victims, no one’s sure.
For it’s not a statue,
Just a couple slabs of stone
Sitting on a hillside that the grass has overgrown.
Parts have been ornately carved
And parts have worn away;
What this monument was for is difficult to say.
It’s not in a graveyard
Or the middle of a square,
And it’s quite a mystery just what it’s doing there.
Yet it overlooks the path
That passes within sight
And it can be seen from there by day and also night.
Now few travelers walk down
That path much anymore.
There’s not much to see out here that they’ve not seen before,
For the ancient monument
Nobody comes to see.
Long neglected, it’s become a curiosity.