Tumbleweeds rule the streets now
where horse and buggy or cars
once moved about with purpose
other than to leave forever
or just returning to bury the dead.
The old Main Street falls to ruin
the bricks eroding away slowly
to wind, sun, freeze and thaw
empty save the fixings left still
inside the broken or boarded windows.
The wind kicks dust from the park
where there are no children left
to play on swings now rusted
to a point of concern about safety
by tourists that pause for brief moments.
Each year, the dying outnumber births
and immigration is not an issue
save at the last spot still alive
the table in the convenience store
where old men grumble over their coffee.
The death is slow, but visible to all
as the town has more old homes
and even a few newer ones sit empty
of all but the mice and ghosts now,
the latter surpassing the human headcount.
The school sits empty and alone
despite efforts to save the structure
the lack of funds force the council
to let it rot away with silent tears,
lost in the trees of its former playground.
Only the highway keeps it alive,
giving the place bursts of tourist dollars
while behind the windows of homes
still sheltering breathing inhabitants
are faces broken with the loss....
For as of next month the village status ends
and the place will slide backwards more
to the anonymity of Unincorporated
slowly fading into the fields and pastures
until only the ruins and graveyard remain.
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