DEATH OF A WATER TOWER

Symbol of all small towns in Texas
the water tower represented the town
its name proudly painted on its side
a water tower said
here I am
you could see it for miles

they were Facebook before Facebook
message boards that proclaimed
"Johnny loves Sally"
or signs for graduating Seniors
who dared to climb such heights
and risk painting their graduation #
"Class of 64"

I think of them as light houses
signaling the way
you could give directions
based on them
"two blocks from the water tower"
"go past the water tower, turn right"

our town's water tower had to come down
damaged by a tornado
it was a danger and a safety hazard
it had to go they said
and so

they cut its legs out from underneath it
using cutting torches
then cleared the area
and with a final nudge pushed over the giant
down it came with an inglorious thud

like some great beast
it fell to ground in a cloud of dust
gave one last breath and died
a great white whale
stranded on a beach of plowed ground
its carcass marveled at by passing strangers

we say goodbye then
to our monument of the past
and to small town America itself

those towering days
now just a memory
of how things
used to be.


© d.knape
February 14, 2017