Roadside memorials

‘another kind of road sign, small but clear’

Roadside memorials

Another kind of road sign, small but clear,
these plywood crosses twined with plastic flowers
- and every Monday more of them appear.

Stop and listen closely: you can hear
the screeching to a halt of days and hours.
Another kind of road sign, small but clear.

Tied to a wheel that can no longer steer,
a tattered photo weathers sun and showers
- and every Monday more of them appear.

The best mate sometimes visits with a beer
and sits and chats, observed by puzzled cows.
Another kind of road sign, small but clear.

The younger cousins bring a teddy bear;
pull up the weeds and add some lego towers.
And every Monday more of them appear.

‘It’s easier to feel him with us here,
the last place that he saw while he was ours’.
Another kind of road sign, small but clear.
And every Monday more of them appear.

(c) Melinda Smith 2011

Published in Quadrant Magazine October 2011