The Graves By the Roadside
I can't get this poem to form. So just placing it here anyway.
I found a graveyard with only the steps remaining of the church at the side of a busy road, with derelict car showrooms neighbouring the site. Some of the graves looked well maintained despite them being extremely old. When I researched it afterwards I found that the area (close to the city centre) had once been a wealthy neighborhood and extremely prestigious people were buried there. Knighted physicians, famous chemists, barons... As the rich people moved out to suburbs, cheap housing was built and later demolished as slums. I checked burial records and found such a high proportion of childhood deaths (typical for 1800s), it was heart breaking to think that it would be covered over if not for the few famous men that were buried there. It's such a weird site, just a cross made of the steel from the church (I believe), the churches steps and an arch to enter. Judging by the numbers of graves listed and the size of the church in photos (seating 1700), this plot is just a fraction and likely just the graves of the wealthy few.
The mansions still stand, though the slums have been cleared
See the wealthy's head stones, whilst signs of the poor disappeared
The last person laid to rest 91 years ago
Though if not for the men of note, no one would know
For nearly 100 years mourners came
To lay flowers at grand graves or those with no name
Children played hide and seek amongst the stones
Unconcerned that below ground lay hundreds of bones
Disproportionate numbers of young to old
Sign of the times and povertys hold
A grave yard with no church, out of place
Several graves of worthy souls not erased
Resting in peace are the rich and the poor
With no flowers or loved ones left to mourn any more
Copyright © Di11y Da11y | Year Posted 2023
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