TULSAN, TOURIST
I like the smell of Tulsa,
the tan burn and
wrinkled forehead,
the crisp handshakes,
child of farmers and
Native Americans.
They use a certain brand
of shampoo
in the airport
on the carpet;
the old man
with the wrinkled lines
and eczema hands is boarding
to Seattle.
LANDING IN TULSA
There's a graveyard
buzzing by in its
bubble-wrap sanctuary,
butted up against
the supply docks
of a shopping centre.
They had the decency at least
to put the graves out back.
Then again, there've been no complaints
or phone calls from the tenants.
-r
3 comments:
"LANDING IN TULSA
There's a graveyard
buzzing by in its
bubble-wrap sanctuary,
butted up against
the supply docks
of a shopping centre."
These lines are absolutely powerful. I'm still thinking about them since yesterday.
Sadly, I'd venture to say that moving the graves out back by the loading docks probably had less to do with reverence and more to do with convenience. I'm sure being reminded of death would at least temporarily halt the spontaneous buying spirit so prevalent at shopping malls/centers (or at the very least question/confront it), and that would be a horrible tragedy indeed.
Thanks for the great work, Rick.
Caleb,
Glad you found this so powerful; it's good to contribute.
Well, and the whole irony is *who* the developers are trying to be 'decent' toward. Basically, the grave 'tenants' aren't making any complaints about the situation, and the developers were 'decent enough' to make sure the graveyard was out-of-sight.
P.S. Your blog is gone! Suck.
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