Empty roads with shining lights.
The light flickers before it goes,
leaving a dark gap
where anything can hide.
A train blows its horn
as it races past.
The echoing sound stays...
It lingers behind.
If you listen closely,
you might just hear something.
If you search hard enough,
you might just see something.
A house on Main Street.
All the lights are off,
all but one room.
A room belonging to a girl.
This girl weeps softly,
cotton pillows muffle the sound.
A broken heart by the one she trusted
and her life will never be the same.
The tears are dried up;
she wipes her eyes.
She isn't ready to move on
but is ready to let go.
The light goes off,
the dark fills her room.
And this small, small town
has completely shut off.
“Small Town Sadness” was printed in Tracks, No. 9 of Inwood Indiana. Pick up the paperback from Prolific Press; the stories and poems published online are free to read here.
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