Dreams of Dereliction (Poetry)

Where have all the people gone?
the buildings stand just as they were
and paper blows about the streets
no cars — no sound of voices blur
the air that hangs unbreathed and dense
with expectation and suspense.

The park’s abandoned and the mall
echoes empty as a cave
all doors flung wide — those living left
no clue to why — no one to save
no stragglers — not one waif or stray
to tell the tale — explain away

the mystery — what happened here?
up close it’s clear that rot’s set in
paint has peeled — the walls have cracked
and weather’s worn illusion thin —
years not days have passed since then
yet not one soul returned again.

I walk strange pavements night by night
the weeds push through — determined, tough
blank windows stare — glass clouded blind
and time is never long enough
to find some answers — what it means
to search such ruined city dreams.