Lover's

Swings                             J.Orr

She staked the sign out today

with blank eyes and a finished sigh

There were no tears left to cry

Most of us on the block

Anxiety stricken over our own lawns

won't allow ourselves to see the sorrow

This  messenger brings

Piercing perfect weed-free sod

with deep holes

But I have seen it

They are bleeding in there

And today I am mourning this

Among other things

They surely have erected unto themselves

A shining temple of white brick and topiaries

The garage alone holds 2 cars and his boat

The talk of the neighborhood for several months, it

was.

Yet I can only seem to see

what's been lost.

Had they foreseen,

Would they have chosen this ravenous god

To whom their children have now been tossed?

I knew there was trouble

when she grew so thin

Starving herself on a steady diet

of work and TV

And less and less of him

Till all that was left to remove

was his

body

and his shirt

And all heartstrings had now been

snipped

hurt by hurt

That monolith stands mocking us, you know

Now transformed from Temple to vinyl sided Tomb

Filled with the dying

A  distinctive 5 bedroom 3 bath monument

To the worship of the leasts

While we watch wither what we need most

here is another stubble testament

To the futility of building empty houses

without  tender promises holding them up

This is a warning for us all

There is some sense to be made of this

We are needful of only a few things, so

Why do  we build three car

garages

When what we need are lover's swings?