Thursday, August 15, 2013

Haibun


                                                    ABANDONED 

There is an almost tangible sadness about abandoned buildings.  Up here in the mid-Hudson Valley, one sees, in the midst of healthy farms and vibrant villages, far too many.

There is the old Bennett College for Women, closed since 1970 and left to the persistent attacks by nature with no counterattacks by man.  Built in the Adirondack style of country lodges.  Rough wood and stone.  Rambling, with several porches and chimneys.  Now, a crumbling ghost at the entrance to the village.

On a road, near a thriving dairy farm, are the remains of another farm.  House, barn, stable, silo, hay rick and other out-buildings.  Down to bare wood, with some shadowy hints of red and white paint.  A rusting tractor with plow attached. Barren fields, mud soaked and weed thick.

An empty store front, Quality Antiques, missing the Q and the A, the other letters still faintly visible on the window.   A Victorian house, windows boarded, porch sagging, chimney bricks blown to the ground, a garden of stubble.

What happened to the people who once filled these buildings? Was it death, financial problems, poor health or simply bad luck that caused their departure?
 
                                               new spring grass
                                                growing each day
                                                the dreams of youth

Published, Contemporary Haibun On-Line, June 2008
Henry, a Hudson Valley Journal, May 2011

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3 comments:

janetld said...

I enjoyed your info and story here - and how the haiku provides contrast, serving as the beginning of the story? We have a number of old abandoned buildings around here too.

Bill said...

Thoughtful and moving, and the ku, in the context created, is a knockout.

Adelaide said...

Thank you, Bill and Janet. Glad you stopped by.

Adelaide