abandoned buildings
We are living in a time when many of our older buildings are reaching the end of their useful lives. Old churches, old covered bridges, old schools and old houses are everywhere, facing the indignity of old age. So many succumb, end up in landfills or as rotting derelicts. Yet these are buildings where history whispers. Buildings with stories to tell, our stories.
~
~
abandoned church
~
highbush cranberry
first, fruit hard and green
then, red, ready for wine
then shriveled raisins
hang on a leafless vine
~
the wick of a candle stub
competes with cobwebs
for thickness, thin sunlight
oozes, amber glass, a saber
along the empty aisle
threatens motes
in stale air undisturbed
where stray wind never
finds its way
~
deconsecrated and so
not desecrated when mice
squeeze under the threshold
gnaw at the pulpit, or when
vines whisper
vague obscenities
at the lintel, tap on glass
~
stripped of cross and steeple
people, prayers
stained glass and benches
removed and sold at auction
mice pause at their industry
to assess ambiguous whispers
~
the young girl who sat on the stair
sang a song to her mother
the warden who argued to fix
the seep in the roof
the Minister
who stuttered
~
~
~
Copyright Jane Tims 2018
nichepoetryandprose 
Jane, that is so beautiful. You have captured that feeling when you see these reminders of past days and put it into words.
LikeLike
Gail Pilgrim
March 5, 2018 at 1:56 pm
Hi Gail. Thanks. Your awareness will have been heightened by all you saw down-under. Jane
LikeLike
jane tims
March 5, 2018 at 7:44 pm