It is a town of haves and havenots.
many blocks semi-abandoned,
well maintained lawns wrapping around houses without people.

The local strip malls
created to take the place of downtown,
include bright neon signs next to
cardboard For Lease notices.

Businesses, friends and neighbors leave town without a word,
leaving behind
rows of vacant windows, some broken.
Their departures apparently too sudden to include plywood.


She came through like a hurricane, ripping parts of me off with the power of her storm.  I tried to hold steady; I tried to keep my head afloat. She left in the same rage she came in and once she was gone I could not believe that no one had stopped to offer to help me rebuild, to maybe help start pretending it was okay to move on.  But like other cities left in the wake of a woman scorned, most of the damage wasn't revealed until months later when the floodwaters had finally receded. 

 

I stopped wondering why no one was there to help rebuild when I realized we had not even bothered to batten down the hatches

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