Cleveland

They say there's dead air
in my city on the Gold Coast,
it hangs on for life itself
like rust
on Cleveland's steel graveyards

lead paint blistering
like purple thistles
and Golden Rod

but if you listen very carefully
you'll hear the seasons change
you'll feel Lake Erie
welcome you like a Mother
to her breast,

you'll learn to pick the dandelions
reverently,
on your knees
you'll make the finest wine
savoring
the wonder of it,
you'll understand this poem.

— Kailashana, Jul 09, 2008

Critiques

RSScheerer

18 years ago

I've never been to Cleveland

until now. :) Nicely done, Anna. ~ Ronda

Kailashana

18 years ago

Thanks H…. take my

Thanks H.... take my city.... please. lol. Love. ~A

RSScheerer

18 years ago

Only if you'll take Springfield

Somehow I think I'd be getting the better deal. ;) love, ~ Ronda

Kailashana

18 years ago

Nah… Springfield is no

Nah... Springfield is no better or worse than Cleveland (I actually live in a suburb.) Besides some folks spend a lifetime *searching* for home... the old standard: "home is where the heart is" never understood. love, ~A

RSScheerer

18 years ago

You’re right. I only grew

You're right. I only grew up there. Now I live out in the country, nearest neighbor a mile away. Could never live in town again, actually! love, ~ Ronda

Rett

18 years ago

Anna

Well done. About 10 years ago I went back where I grew up. Some had changed some had not. I actually understand the old sayings. "Home is where the heart is" and "You can't go home again". The reason is where your home and family is, is home. Where you grew up is not home any more. Lovely write. I enjoyed it.. Rett: "At twenty, if you are not a Liberal, you have no heart. At Thirty, if you are not a Conservative, you have no brain." Winston Churchill

Kailashana

18 years ago

Actually the trick, I think,

Actually the trick, I think, is to know deep in one's heart...another oldie: "wherever you go, there you are". An old poem. One of my first published in a book edited by Althea Hayton called "Untwinned*. http://www.amazon.com/Untwinned-perspectives-death-before-birth/dp/0952565498 The journey to Ixtlan begins with the fearless and profusely mythic story of a return ... to somewhere... One ... has never left, ...and where we are always leaving from.... *yes, I have read Carlos Castaneda's books, including the title of my poem*

themoonman

18 years ago

Hi Anna...

never been to Cleveland but I've seen the lake.. huge! thanks for sharing with us... Richard

Kailashana

18 years ago

Hi Richard,Everything you

Hi Richard, Everything you wanted to know about Lake Erie but were afraid to ask ;-) http://www.great-lakes.net/lakes/ref/eriefact.html Hugs, ~Anna

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