(300): Bringing Out the Dark Shapes in the Alabama Woods
Artistic sensibilities learned while driving on rural county roads in Lee County, Alabama long ago…

Green vines so thick they turn black,
Shading the wall of the house,
Spreading over the interloper —
The house that barely civilized the wilderness.
Abandoned any time from a year to a century ago,
Who can tell, for it has returned to its roots,
Its tendrils, leaves, and berries —
Shaded foliage canopy turned black,
A cave for wild animals,
Natural habitat once again.
We drove by it flippantly,
Calling it our dream home,
Dreaming of its past life —
The fancy of a modern 1950’s housewife
Or a 1930’s runaway teen who wanted her own real life.
It is faded into a countryside curiosity,
An art project for an eccentric small town artist
Who photographs it, tinting significant surfaces.
It is now folklore, the nature-directed vines
Driving the living representation of country life —
All gray with pink highlights,
Like a pretentious college town promotional brochure.


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