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Nov 14
poem 6 comments
LadyMidnight

The Abandoned School

Pavement chalk
Melted by rain
Many colors mixed together on the faded concrete.

Grass 
Brown and limp
Dried by the sun
Long and uncut.

A faded brick building
Moss and ivy all around.
Roof sagging into itself.

A single swing
Rusty with age.
Blue plastic bright against the gray sky.

A woman
Black sunglasses covering her eyes
Hair pulled up in a tight bun.
Her daughter sucking a lollipop 
Holding mother’s hand.

 “Mommy!” 
The little girl whines.
 “Why are we here?”

 “This was my school.”
The woman says stiffly
Gazing around at the tomb of her childhood

 “Huh. This doesn’t look like a fun school.”

 “Oh, it was.”

 “Can we go now?”

 “Yes.”

And in the last light of the dying sun
They turned and walked back to their car.
The woman’s sunglasses hiding her tears.

Behind them,
the school
Left in a cloud of exhaust.
A lollipop stick abandoned in the sand.
Like the memories of the children who once played there.



 
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Posted: 11.14.18
About the Author: LadyMidnight
"There is nothing to writing. All you have to do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Ernest Hemmingway
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Discussion

Comments

  1. ShanRippWriting
    Nov 15, 2018

    This took an unexpected twist at the end. I wasn't expecting to have the poem be so bittersweet, but I think that reflects what growing up is like and visiting the places we went to as a young child. Really well done!

    Shannon Ripp

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  1. LadyMidnight
    Nov 15, 2018

    Thank you so much! I’m glad that you liked this poem!

    "There is nothing to writing. All you have to do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Ernest Hemmingway

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  1. NiñaEstrella
    Nov 18, 2018

    This left such an amazing imprint on me. Beyond words. Beautiful.

    “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.”
    ― Oscar Wilde

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  1. LadyMidnight
    Nov 19, 2018

    Thank you so much!!

    "There is nothing to writing. All you have to do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Ernest Hemmingway

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  1. hannah.banana23
    Nov 20, 2018

    This is beautiful. It has so much symbolism and hidden emotions inside it. Beautifully written, I love it and it really speaks to me Great job!

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  1. LadyMidnight
    Nov 21, 2018

    Thank you so much!
    I love your username

    "There is nothing to writing. All you have to do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Ernest Hemmingway

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