Vacancy, For Rent Poem by Eric Cockrell

walking the streets
of a small southern town...
empty buildings, empty houses,
'vacancy, for rent'

no one moving much,
even the church parking lots
are empty.... seems like
Jesus and His disciples

packed up, and moved on...
probably looking for work!
only a sense of quiet despair,
the sound of old cars rusting,

and the howling of a dog.
just read the news:
an elderly couple, married
67 years, murder suicide...

he'd been sick, she had
alzheimer's.... afraid there'd
be no one to take care of her...
another unmarked grave,

forgotten people, abandoned
by their own government.....
another empty house that
used to be a home...

'vacancy, for rent.'
just walking the streets
of a small southern town...
church bells are ringing...

and the smell of death
hangs in the air!