town down by the river

this little town

needs

an overhaul. so many

stores are closed,

the sidewalks are cracked,

the river is green

and overflows.

the population is down

to a few

hundred

old souls.

something happened here

a long time

ago,

the sign says, but it's faded

and hard to read.

something about

the civil war

and slavery.

John Wilkes Boothe

had a beer

here once.

Clara Barton once took

a nap

on that bench.

trains and boats once

came here

for coal and wood.

now the only game in town

is the ice-cream

shop.

even there, the line is short.