Inside Their Heart

Toy’s abattoir has decayed.
Gone is the bank, E.S. & A.
One time Witton Street brickwork’s,
is grass growing over the clay.
Bruton the blacksmith has rusted.
His name on a shed disappears.
The water trough in Mackey Street,
has not seen a horse in years.
I s’pose this is meant to be progress,
tearing this village apart,
so the old folk, keep telling me,
history lives inside their heart.

The Flinders Road bakery has gone.
Maisey the butcher has too.
Eacott motors remembered by concrete,
on a block in Princes Avenue.
The produce of Follett and Pope,
along with the vital Wenns store.
The banks, green grocer and plumber,
don’t open their doors any more.
I s’pose this is meant to be progress,
tearing this village apart,
so the old folk, keep telling me,
history lives inside their heart.

The shrine to our heroes at war;
relocated and out of the way.
Ed’s milk bar where we gathered;
ivy covers the rubble today.
Idle is the old butter factory,
at one time the hub of this town.
Four timber mills once flourished.
Three of them now have closed down.
I s’pose this is meant to be progress,
tearing this village apart -
once held in the old pioneer hands,
who gave this village a start.
Some of them say they remember,
days of the old horse and cart,
so the old folk keep telling me,
history lives inside their heart.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2020

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Dietrich Avatar
July 19, 2020 at 4:13 PM
wow, this is so profound, Lindsay. So well expressed with that repeating line. Sad nostalgia . One day nobody will remember it at all.
Laurie Avatar
July 25, 2020 at 9:38 PM
Hello Andrea ... thank you Andrea. You are right; the electronic world is all that will matter - thank you Andrea - Lindsay
Proxenos Avatar
July 16, 2020 at 11:02 AM
It is heartbreaking to watch you are right Lindsay, History certainly lives inside the heart, for memories are made every day,some we forget that are not so important but others are engraved in our souls hearts and minds. It is so sad to see business closing down, this virus must be the devil, but it will not survive, the war will one day soon come to be between good and evil. Blessings, my friend, Jennifer.
Laurie Avatar
July 25, 2020 at 9:35 PM
Hello Jennifer ... small town shops and businesses just cannot compete with ever growing conglomerates. If one closes, then folk shop elsewhere, and before long little villages disappear - thank you Jennifer - Lindsay
Canerdy Avatar
July 16, 2020 at 7:20 AM
Lindsay, this well-written poem tells the story of areas everywhere. I'm thinking of how the completion of interstate highways has basically killed some towns! Janice
Laurie Avatar
July 25, 2020 at 9:31 PM
Hello Janice ... how right you are Janice. Time costs money, therefore sleepy little rural towns hold up the traffic - thank you Janice - Lindsay
Wolf Avatar
July 13, 2020 at 8:41 PM
History will have to live in our hearts over here too, Lindsay, as Americans are hell-bent on 1984-ing it. ~ George Orwell
Laurie Avatar
July 25, 2020 at 9:28 PM
Hello Gershon ... unfortunately, capital gain will only occur with destruction and modernizing - thanks Gershon - Lindsay
Leffanta Avatar
July 13, 2020 at 2:31 PM
Meanwhile, Americans gather to destroy all of the evidence! Perhaps one first needs to have an heart! Aloha! Rico
Laurie Avatar
July 25, 2020 at 9:25 PM
G'day Rico ... it's not just the USA Rico. Progress and greed have no need for heritage and history. Just dollars to accumulate - thanks Rico - Lindsay
Cunningham Avatar
July 13, 2020 at 3:52 AM
Shame to see a once thriving town fall into decay. Tom
Laurie Avatar
July 25, 2020 at 9:18 PM
Hello Tom ... developers with no heart only see dollars and this is the modern world - thank you Tom - Lindsay
Krutsinger Avatar
July 12, 2020 at 8:59 PM
Beautiful memories like this keep these towns alive. Thank you for this one.
Laurie Avatar
July 25, 2020 at 9:17 PM
Hello Caren ... we need to keep our heritage for future generations, but much of it is destroyed and forgotten - thank you Caren - Lindsay
Romios Avatar
July 12, 2020 at 7:15 PM
Hello Lundsay! You are one, superb writer. Appreciated the tone of this write. I loved history lives inside the heart. That's a new one on me. Hugs, PR
Laurie Avatar
July 25, 2020 at 9:14 PM
Thank you for your comment Panagiota. So much changes so quickly in this electronic age, therefore our history is destroyed and forgotten - catch you soon Panagiota - Lindsay
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