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Crossing Over


Tinker

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Crossing Over

There are five crosswalks
striped on the roads
of my little village.
Four at the four-way stop
in the middle of town
and one as one enters
from the east.  That’s where
the tourists come from.

Neither north nor south
allows that caution
and the western entrance,
coming down off the mountain,

is at the four-way stop,
that's my way in.  

Regular visitors saunter within the lines
and locals cross where ever we want.
Heck, it's our town.

The white paint is worn
but visible. One stop sign
lazily leans to one side.  A drunk
must have hit it at one
time or another. In our
two block-long watering hole,
we have five restaurants, three
of which have full bars, the others
serve beer and wine.

I remember when there were
no crosswalks painted here
and only three dining halls.
I’m told one had a brothel upstairs,

but that was before my time.
We are moving forward
 through 
the 20th century slowly.
Someday we may even cross over
into the 21st.
                   ~~Judi Van Gorder

~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~

For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com

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Hi Judi,

           As you can imagine, I enjoyed the perspective of a local, the gradual change of outside on inside, the voice of the local in behaviours. I'm not familiar with the American term crosswalk.  It is an effective image in your poem. I liked the sense of defiant ownership with how the road is crossed as opposed to the regulated tourists. These is a sense of independence there, individuality.. I believe in slowtime rather than the rush, but that's me.

all the best

Phil

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Hi Phil, cross walk is the path designated by white painted lines on the asphalt where pedestrians  walk across a road usually from corner to corner.

Since i have remained a resident of this area for 57 years, I too prefer a slower pace.  Though, admittedly when I visit Mexico where my husband spends a lot of his time on our boat, the even slower pace has me climbing the walls with boredom after only a few days.

~~Judi

~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~

For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com

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This is awesome, Judi! I was expecting a poem about passing away and smiled instead from start to finish. I love how you depict life in that town using "Main Street" images and the passage of time. The narrative is conversational, but not to the extreme, so as to not lose poetic effect. Excellent work!

On 7/4/2020 at 12:56 AM, Tinker said:

 Though, admittedly when I visit Mexico where my husband spends a lot of his time on our boat, the even slower pace has me climbing the walls with boredom after only a few days.

I think I could get used to it. I would probably stay till I run out of money or they run out of tacos! 🌮

Tony

PS -- Happy July 4th weekend! 🎆🎇

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Here is a link to an index of my works on this site: tonyv's Member Archive topic

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  • 3 weeks later...

I get a strong sense of atmosphere--great use of details!

Quote

Someday we may even cross over
into the 21st.

Zing! Killer last line!

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  • 9 months later...
Gunslinger

Other than seeming like a metropolis in comparison to the small town, where I was raised, I thoroughly enjoyed the very descriptive, image evoking wording.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I enjoyed the contrast between the narrator's opinion versus the physicality of a town and how the journey of the poem parallels with the journey towards progress and its perceived downside with town life. 

 

"Words are not things, and yet they are not non-things either." - Ann Lauterbach

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's a good thing you had to both clarify and qualify the fact of that brothel!  😉

 

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