On The Waterfront

There's more than one kind of ghost town

On the Waterfront

 

There is truth in abandoned buildings

In the decaying husks of greedy leviathans

Thrown up against the skyline

Silent temples of all that will never be

 

There are quiet recriminations in

The broken reflection of dusty windows

An empty damnation in

The splattered brick floors

 

These are our deserted altars of

Dust and twisted metal, our

Shrines and high places of excess

Our tribute to grime and toil

 

We watch as we wait for the

Ghosts to return and take their

Places, forgetting that there is

Truth in what is gone forever

 

Truth but no mercy.

 

-Zoe Richardson

Author's Note

Come in and browse. You never know what you might find!

Reviews

[Fabian G. Franklin]

This is a wonderful write. It echoes some similar observations I made in On the Bricks but after the fact. The docks were still alive in my write but here they have lapsed into decay with time. You write such eloquent nostalgia, my friend, and beautifully so. Always a fan of your writing, F.

[Zoe Richardson]

I was writing of urban blight and a town that looked backwards instead of forwards. Thankfully I do not live there anymore! So grateful you liked this one. Any of them, really!

[shadrach hah]

Hi Zoe, what memories can be held in the abandoned buildings of the past. Still, we should look more to the present and the future, what is to come, not what has been. We can't change what has been but we can change the future. We should find a way to make use of that which is abandoned and make it the now. Have a wonderful Monday. Hugs always.....Mike.

[Zoe Richardson]

That was my point. The place I was living in was in a state of urban decay. Rather than looking to the future and changing the tenor of the city, they kept looking at the past and waiting for it to come back. it was downright eerie. Meanwhile, drugs, crime, unemployment all made the city one of the worst places to live. When you worship the past, you lose the future.

[shadrach hah]

Totally agree with what you saying, Zoe. Sometimes we can spend too long in the past and the future can stagnate. The city should always move forward with the times. Have a wonderful Thursday. Hugs always....Michael.

[Gee]

This had Simple Minds playing in my head:)
Where once there was graft, blood and sweat there is niw folk with far too much cash sitting in their swanky pads with nowt but how to make the next buck on their minds....am I jealous, perhaps a tad.
Enjoyed the read Zoe

[Zoe Richardson]

Aww! Thank you, Gee. You always make posting worthwhile.

[John the Baptist]

Thus passes the glory of the world.

[Zoe Richardson]

Of one city, at least. It surprises me how some places revel in the past, even if it has decayed beyond recognition. I'm glad you see this and enjoyed my work!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

This is very interesting, Zoe. One of my favorite movies, "On the Waterfront"---and this scenario and description can be likened to the docks where that mostly takes place.
Marlon Brando going after Johnny Friendly....truth but no mercy....
"I'm glad what I done ta yew"? In his NY accent....
Grime and toil is what those dockworkers did, with no union to back them up...Friendly owned them.
But then his way became a ghost...and his altars became deserted...
Right does tend to win out sometimes.
great piece of writing.
j.

[Zoe Richardson]

It's actually named for a local festival in Rockford, IL. The town had a peculiar habit of revering the past to the point of neglecting the present and ignoring the future. Progress halted, the town died, and they seemed content with memories and the belief in some miraculous resurrection. I'm glad you found a different meaning here. That's the reason I write and share!

[Patricia Wedel]

dearest Zoe... the Art of bygone days is preserved in our homes and hearts.
May we be forever free to express what we have seen. There will be innovations of
Art and Music and Dance... the Creative Spirit will always flow like a River with stepping stones.
Love your poetry. tenderly, Pat

[Zoe Richardson]

That may be the most beautiful compliment I have ever received! Right back atcha, Pat. Thank you for your lovely expressive soul.