SMALL TOWN

And yet another class assignment;

SMALL TOWN

First - green town sign
One Kilometer to go
Then - Corporate town sign
Upside down, bullet riddled

Next - a small church
Stark and white
Against brown, dry grass
And tall dark trees

Now - Main Street, town centre
A little boy with knees bare
Kicks a can and whistles
Through the vacant lot

General store - cracked gray paint
A lone man, a pick-up truck
Unloading boxes, Dust blowing
A sign creaks in the wind

An abandoned car sits rusting
Next to the empty pumps
The gas station - windows boarded
Faded sign says "CLOSED"

Dark dusty houses hide
Behind thick hedges
Past the crumbling curling rink
An old man shuffles

The noon siren shrieks
Startled
A shaggy black dog
Howls

Shari Brunet
30 Sep 1992