Urban Landscape

While in Phoenix for Spring Break, my parents and I ventured downtown to a museum. The route that we took to get us there took us through the outskirts of downtown before we reached the middle of the city. I can't fully describe what captivated me there, but it was enough that my mom and I ventured back so that I could take pictures of some of the things I saw. Having some time to meditate upon the experience today, these are the words that came forth.

Shattered Glass. Boarded windows.
Graffitied walls. Abandoned rooms.
The hush of silence. The remembrance of despair.
This is all that's left in a place left to wallow in its remains.
Broken dreams. Neglected lives.
Lack of hope. Crying for love.
The ringing of emptiness. The echo of stillness.
This is all that's left in the lives left to wallow in their pain,


Stories are left untold but their legacies are preserved within the walls
Physical presence of people has ceased but their spirits live on
For such a place has carved out their destinies
From brighter days ahead or an even bleaker dawn
Their faces play on like a slideshow never seen but fully known
Beckoning one to forget but crying out to be seen
For too often these faces are the picture of an urban landscape
Fully real human lives that we choose not to know

And all that's left with any form of life
Proves to be a child's swing swaying in the breeze
Abandoned behind barbed wire fences
Living in the midst of growing weeds
This is the breath of life in a place of death
A shining light in the face of neglect
The chains jingle like a voice speaking in the city
To open one's eyes, fully absorb, and to never forget

This is the urban landscape hardly acknowledged but commonly seen
An uncomfortable presence but a known reality
We choose to ignore the voices and look past what remains
For we deem the price to be changed one too heavy to pay
Yet as long and as hard as we try to escape
These lives will still remain at the end of the day
Dare we to break the common barriers existing
And venture to change this urban landscape?