Empty Town by Rhonda J. Nelson

[ornotna]

I like Rhonda's work. I hope you enjoy it as well.



Empty Town

This is where she lives now.
On the back lot of a school girl crush
the baton twirler in boots wasted
down to her petty pants.
No more rides with chrome bumpers
just a rush to the end of her novella
splintered life borrowed like a library book
down the scary alley where women lie scattered
like broken birds. The one in the corner
with the wilted corsage, the one with punch spilled
down her dress, hallucinating in and out
of the dresser drawer, the one with the gun
in her mouth, wondering if the bullet
will mar her headboard. This is where she lives
small town with one street light flashing no survivors
mothers counting sins like sheep
and the billboard next to the drive-in
says, School’s Out. Go Slow.

[Droopy]

1. I've seen many a town like that in my travels

and I often wonder what the inhabitants are like.

[Generic Other]

2. Chilling

especially for those of us living in those small towns...

[Steel City Slim]

3. That Is Sad

And it feels so lonely.

[JitterbugPerfume]

4. lots of towns (and people) like that around here

living lives of quiet desperation it is so sad



consuming their drugs and whisky

and their Wal Mart treasures

voting for Republicans, because they stand for morality

[JitterbugPerfume]

5. her poem reminds me of Dylan

Desperation Row

[Steel City Slim]

7. It Reminds Me....

....of Tom Waits. "Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis", or "$29.00", or "A Sweet Little Bullet From A Pretty Blue Gun".

[Steel City Slim]

6. Like There's An Emptiness Inside