Chris Riddell | LAKESHORE

LAKESHORE

Along this strip
you could once find
vintage Thunderbirds
pulling into burger joints
before the movies,
and afterward they’d go
ripping up and down
the pavement,
surfing on the lake breeze.

That was when
the edge of town boomed
and everyone went to Lakeshore
to eat in diners
caressed by the cool wind,
and spent nights by the water
in small motels
on the beaches of Lake Ontario.

Now their bodies crumble
as an excavator eats them
like crackers
and it’s stunning how easily
something comes to ruin,
how swift
the passage of time.

 

Author’s Bio

CHRIS RIDDELL is a freelance writer from Toronto who captures the beauty and mystery of the world in poetry, prose, and photos. His poetry has appeared in Sulphur, Amomancies, OnMetatron.com, and Passion: Poetry. As a journalist, he’s written for many fine publications including The Globe and Mail, The National Post, and Torontoist.