Conect11

Mar 14, 2009 ⭐ View statistics (Premium feature)

Officer With Weapon Drawn in a Foreclosed Home

If you drive through
the Broadway neighborhood
on Cleveland's east side
you can easily spot them;
the plywood going up,
the unmistakeable appearance
of decay.

In my home
we are always one or two months behind,
across the street yesterday
the landlord threw the remaining furniture
on to the tree lawn.

Is this what people can expect now?

A few months ago
my father in law claimed he'd always have job security,
been with Yellow 35 years, after all.
Now he might be too expensive for them,
indeed the company is taking drastic measures.

When the pin drops
where do you think it'll land?
What will we hold
when the bottom falls out?

An officer holds a gun,
looking for evictees
in an award winning photo.
"War's come to our houses"
Time Magazine exclaimed.

— Conect11, Mar 14, 2009

About This Poem

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Critiques

Rett

17 years 2 months ago

Sad, but very true my friend

Very good image drawn here. a bit of a problem, but does it matter? the landlord through(threw) the remaining furniture on to the treet(street) lawn. Looks exactly what the world is coming to and it is sad. Good write Mark! Respectfully, Rett: "Next time you think you're perfect, walk on water." "A Democracy can withstand anything but Democrats." Robert A. Heinlein

Conect11

17 years 2 months ago

yipes

you're right, how the heck did I let those slip by? Thanks Rett! Mark W. "our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers." 1 Timothy 4:10

Conect11

17 years 2 months ago

God bless you too, champ

Mark W. "our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers." 1 Timothy 4:10

orgami

17 years 2 months ago

Dirty thirties

less people then MORE now more decay to set in as the poison sweeps as the world snaps that loose slack and rips apart the world banks foreclosing then and raising interest rates the prairies turned into a dust bowl and notices nailed on porches to evict people loading up cars wagons hitching on trains migrating west to pick fruit the verdant valleys iron ore mines closing along the east Cheaper in South America like Mexico now Soldiers like cops will always be employed to keep the peace Be it world or on one street corner or another even if its battle scarred and empty Hemmingway was in Spain Steinbeck was on the Road like Kerouack Jack London was in the Gold Rush Mark Twain was where people left the Mississippi for the trails west Chinese uneasy restless hungry Millions Canadians getting laid off Plants shutting down No one wants our lumber tourism down from gas costs we hang on and hope

Conect11

17 years 2 months ago

the Depression lasted what, a decade?

the thing now is to weather the storm, although seeing how things go sickens me... of course it's the average person that is most affected, while firms like AIG pay out big bonuses. I read today that the average Wall Street Bonus is 121,000 dollars (not just execs, but all traders and bankers are included in that stat) that's 5 times more in bonus money than the average American makes in a year. Mark W. "our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers." 1 Timothy 4:10

infinite_dwarf

17 years 2 months ago

Mark

Hold your hat, Mark.... Bernake expects the recession to end in late 2009. (and if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell ya.) I'm completely floored at how quickly we turned from prosperity to destitution (if it isn't a word, it is now!) all in 8 short years. It's amazing. I know all good things must come to an end, but jeez! ~Jess K. ---------------------------------------------------- -"The truth is, it doesn't matter what you do. 'Til you gaze in that mirror with an eye that's true. And admit that what scares you is the me in you..." - Steve Earle

Conect11

17 years 2 months ago

yeah, I'm lining up to buy my beach front property

in Kansas. I seem to remember Bill Clinton saying something about us having a surplus... hmmm, I'm still paying taxes, so where is all my money going? Mark W. "our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers." 1 Timothy 4:10

Quillsvein1

17 years 2 months ago

this

is a very well drawn portrait of the slowly decaying economy from the poet's sober perspective. i remember dick cheney saying our economy was in a boom! i wonder what happened to that? (or the wmd's). in times like these i seriously fear for the mental livelihood of those without Christ. great and honest job! GB

Conect11

17 years 2 months ago

thanks John,

these times remind me how important it is to cling to Christ. As to the Cheney comment, it's amazing how expensive war is, isn't it? (In human AND monetary cost) Mark W. "our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers." 1 Timothy 4:10

Race_9togo

17 years 2 months ago

Mark

This is good. It gives me a sort of empty pang of despair. I can't remember the number of times I have come close to being thrown out myself in the past, and how horrible it feels. The last verse...chilling. Respectfully Jim "Laws and rules don't kill freedom: narrow-minded intolerance does" : Race