Michael Ceraolo- A Poem

Shopping Center (2015)

Just north of the watershed boundary

sits a shopping center,

                                  one

that has had a couple different names,

                                                        anchored

at its west end by a grocery store,

anchored at its east end by

the club run by the nation's richest scum

(said club closed six years ago,

                                               and

the large building has been empty since;

the FOR LEASE sign on it

has had to be replaced a couple times

because of weathering;

                                  the last time

it was taken down there was a rumor

someone was moving in soon,

                                             but

that was quickly disproved)

The driveways and parking lot

are in such shape as would have caused

a homeowner to be hauled into court

for not repairing them,

                                 and

have been so for the twelve years

I've lived across the street

The office-supply store hangs on,

                                                 though

a couple of its nearby brethren

have closed recently

A beauty-supply store survives,

and seems to thrive,

                              regardless

of whether it has neighbors or not

One for-profit college

has been replaced by another one

The theater has been closed

for two-and-a-half years now,

                                          yet

at night the lights still come on

on the empty marquee

The furniture store next door to

the empty theater,

                            closed

in 2006 because of flooding

and empty ever since except

for a few falls when it was

occupied by a Halloween store,

                                               last year

had about three-fourths of its space

taken up by a deep discount store

(unofficial motto:  we sell the crap

for far closer to what it's really worth,

                                                      and

we still make enough of a profit

to continuously open new stores

The deli left a few years ago,

its space vacant since

A clothing store closed four years ago

and still remains empty,

                                    though the space

has hosted a flea market occasionally

and once held a job fair

for a few weeks

A former fast-food restaurant

has sat empty for a few years,

weeds coming through the cracks

in its parking lot

An outbuilding that once held

a chain restaurant

has been empty since 2006,

                                          except

for a few months when it was filled

by an internet gambling place,

                                             until 

a new state law outlawed such places

And yet

despite the situation here and elsewhere

there are those in the watershed and out

who can't wait to build more shopping centers