These poems are from a series inspired by reading Atlas Obscura stories while listening to a music genre randomly selected from my list. The poems were written immediately after reading, still while listening to the randomly chosen music. I frequently post these to Medium. Please share, click the clapping hands below, or help support a writer if you enjoy these.
Can Nostalgia Save Oregon’s Beloved Psychedelic Theme Park?
(article here: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/enchanted-forest-oregon-pandemic)
classic R&B
god knows it’s not up to us
what kind of ending we get
everybody wants a happy ending
but nobody comes to story book lane
so, what now? our favorite place
is dying, not fading, not disappearing.
I want to climb in the trunk of an enchanted tree
in the hollow I will let myself believe
that everyone is in our lives
precisely the perfect length of time
this hollow tree will make me enchanted
just like I used to be
but the thing about the hollow tree —
soon the hollow will be all that’s left
and it won’t be enchanted anymore
run, run, all of us together can save this kind of magic
but for how long? how long can we keep it
here while fires ruin and viruses kill,
and right-wing daydreams are our new fairytales
the princess and the sweat shop,
the emperor has no clothes.
somewhere there is an enchanted tree
that knows exactly what to do
don’t cut it down, don’t close the book,
or who will keep us alive?
You can donate to help keep Portland’s Enchanted Forest up and running. https://www.gofundme.com/f/enchanted-forest-family-owned-theme-park-survival
You can find me at http://www.erinlyndalmartin.com or on Twitter at @erinlyndal.
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