I was reading Margaret's post 15 Lines Talking to Me Today at her blog Reflections on the Teche
http://reflectionsontheteche.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/15-lines-talking-to-me-today/ . I loved the idea that she took 15 lines and wove them into a poem. Later a friend of mine sent me a link to Lost and Found Montana.
The descriptive writing was so rich I wanted to share a sample. I then mined it for some rich luscious lines of found poetry. I hope you enjoy.
"When the official state highway map was created in 2001 ultimately nine communities remained, nine disappeared.
Their stories explore the issue of depopulation in the Great Plains, but they are not ghost tales. These are stories of towns clinging to existence like tumbleweed to a barbed wire fence. They're not just farming towns, they're railroad towns, mining towns, and mountain towns. Some have all but blown away in the western wind, while others balance at the vanishing point of the 21st century.
The destiny of each town provides a lens into the changing rural West and the fragility of place. As the MDT found out, when you propose to erase a town, it's about so much more than just words on a map." - quote from Lost and Found Montana http://www.lostandfoundmontana.com/
"I can stand there in Lombard and close my eyes and see it still. Then I open them and nothing is there." - Rose Ellen Dempsey
Found Poem - Slipping From the Map
Inspired by - Lost and Found Montana
“Hey, we're still here.”
Outcry about town erasure.
People are passionate about what is on the map.
Explore the issue of depopulation
Stories of towns clinging to existence
Like tumbleweeds to a barbed wire fence.
The destiny of each town
Provides a lens into the changing
Rural West.
The fragility of place.
Some have all but blown away
In the western wind.
In the western wind.
Others balance
At the vanishing point,
Of the 21st century.
At the vanishing point,
Of the 21st century.
Nine disappeared.
Nine communities remain,
Slowly,
Slipping from the map.
Slipping from the map.
