Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DYING TOWN, by LESLIE MCDONALD


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DYING TOWN, by                    
First Line: The sun is hot on unpaved streets
Last Line: Men keep a watch for signs of fire.
Subject(s): Streets; Towns; Avenues


The sun is hot on unpaved streets.
A cow roams loose to eat the grass
In every place except inside
The neatly straight, white picket fence
That marches still around the rows
Of carved stones, older than itself.

The world is still so one can hear
The swishing sound from down the street
Where two small boys are kicking leaves,
The steady thud of ax on wood --
Old Joe who lives across the creek
Is cutting wood. Nights now are cold.

All around black mountains sit
And hold the town within themselves,
A friendly rough-topped wall by day,
A ring of shadowy black by night.
On top of their two highest peaks
Men keep a watch for signs of fire.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net