‘Notice of Intent to Demolish’
The American Red Cross hall stands
condemned
black and yellow signs taped to its doors
as if the iron ball lurked around the corner
This place has lost its race with time
This place
darkened
shadowed by rising shining hospitals
awaits its fate in the cold below
Nearby
bundled men sleep in doorways
equally dark
equally lost
equally cold
or standing at highway exits
their box flap signs
scrawled with pleas
as drivers stare straight
evading their secondhand faces
They are the new republic
forgotten as the Red Cross hall
their amnesic America laid bare
Their notices have been given
6 thoughts on "‘Notice of Intent to Demolish’"
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Man, the sense of decline here is thick, Lee. You transition from the physical space to the individual so powerfully — equally dark, lost, cold. This is so damning of our culture. I dig it.
Each line captures the depth of decline. You take us there and invite us to face it. Thank you.
H.A. said my thoughts.
This poem gives.
The contrast of the charitably-focused Red Cross with the (once charitable and now primarily profit-driven) shining hospitals rising in the sky works well. The comparison of the condemned buildings and the secondhand faces of abandoned people is more (effectively) chilling!
Revised version:
The American Red Cross hall stands
condemned
black and yellow signs taped to its doors
as if the iron ball lurked around the corner
This place has lost its race with time
This place
darkened
shadowed by rising shining hospitals
awaits its fate in the cold below
Nearby
bundled men sleep in doorways
equally dark
equally lost
equally cold
or standing at highway exits
their box flap signs
scrawled with pleas
drivers staring straight
evading their secondhand faces
They are the new republic
forgotten as the Red Cross hall
their amnesic America laid bare
Their notices have been given
Very effective, tragic poem, Lee. Thank you.