Freddie Robinson Jr. Poet Haibun

Little Bitty

Looking at the map,
the United States of America
is comprised of fifty states
I live in Michigan,
one of the fifty states
Specifically, I live in the city of Highland Park
It is a small city nestled within Detroit, the biggest city in Michigan
It's a city that once was famous
for having the first assembly line for automobiles
Henry Ford's iconic Model T were the first cars
that rolled off that line from the Ford Motors factory
I live a short distance from that early 1900's auto plant,
which is just a ghost building now, although it has been
designated as a historical site by the state of Michigan
Over forty years ago, Highland Park looked so beautiful
The city's motto: it was called "The city of trees"
But that was until the mid-70's, when it was decimated by Dutch elm disease
My once tree-lined, shady street is no more,
though my neighbors directly across the street from me
have a big maple tree that still provides my house
with plenty of shade in the summertime
Highland Park was also once the world headquarters
for the Chrysler auto company
They moved out in the early 90's,
they were the last big taxpayer for the city
Since then, the city has been on the decline
With a shrinking tax base and population that once peaked
above 50,000, and is now below 20,000 ...
Highland Park, the city of trees has become a dry branch

A little bitty
city within a city
Detroit surrounds us

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Cheryl Hoffman January 6, 2017 at 8:27 AM Realistic write Freddie; Detroit used to be a thriving manufacturing auto city and now its become like a dry branch….the middle class has suffered much because of this!:( Well done realism!:)

Demetrios Trifiatis January 5, 2017 at 10:19 AM When living in Canada I had the opportunity to visit Michigan and its University as well as Detroit. Of course you know that Detroit is a French word that means the straights " Narrow Passage" . I enjoyed your informative writing my friend, Freddie! Freddie Robinson Jr. January 5, 2017 at 10:32 AM Ty, Demetrios. I appreciate you stopping by and giving my poem a read. I visited your page ... and I was impressed w/your enormous volume of poems. I got my work cut out to go through your work. But I like reading, so one poem at a time. Thanks for dropping the knowledge about Detroit. Much love to you.

Darren White January 5, 2017 at 9:57 AM This is a wonderful Haibun. I am not from the US and I learned a lot by reading this, and the little bitty was just such a great little ending of your work here :) Freddie Robinson Jr. January 5, 2017 at 10:27 AM Ty Darren. I appreciate the support and I am glad that you liked the poem and it was informative as well. Much love to you, my friend.