Flowers by the Roadside

in both

directions

paper whites and

jonquils in spring

in summer daisies

autumn brings

clusters of

purple asters

across

the fragile

median of the

highway

                  *

the clocks

hang and time

is the steady

drip from pipes

leaking unseen

behind walls

                  *

we pass

these little

shrines that appear

by the roadside

with ribbons

and candles and

flowers where

the once living

we did not know

have left

us by accident

                  *

it will never

be finished

the roses are

gone the feted

have demolished

the wing where

the morning

sun rises

                  *

who are

these hollow men

arranging

a ballroom of

shadows

to mark

the death

of america