The lights are off

The lights are off in Bedford.
Celebration done.
Windows one by one cry out
'shop online' and 'watch this space'.
I have been watching.
Days, weeks, months, years go by
as 'this space' becomes part of the race
to withdraw.

The lights are off in Bedford.
Hope has lost its way.
Pigeons crouch under canopies
like the missing market traders
unwilling to embrace the day.
The faces are stripped of festive cheer
and a damp malaise melingers
while

the lights are off in Bedford.

I went into town yesterday to pick up a few things from the market, but the market traders were not there - save one stall with apples, oranges and tomatoes. The stall owner just shrugged and said they couldn't be bothered to come because it was so grey and wet. Indeed it was, and as I wondered around, I became so aware of the contrast between this Saturday and one a couple of weeks before Christmas when the decorations were lit, the town was buzzing with stalls, buskers and a sense of optimism. It really did feel like all the lights had been turned off in more ways than one.

I snapped a few shots, combined them and wrote a poem.

[Gail Lambert]

The town centres look so sad, I fear for the high street and the markets. Your poem suits your image perfectly

[Ann Williams]

A bleak and powerful image and poem Helen.

[Babs]

Bedford is looking very bleak and cold.

[Kas]

Shows the post-Christmas emptiness that happens in so many places across the country. How to get people back into towns and off ‘online’ is the challenge.

[Ann H. LeFevre]

January is truly a sad month- SAD! Cold, grey, and if not the right temp, no snow only rain. You've captured that feeling really well (although having seen the next collage and poem first, I'm glad I read them in backwards order!)

[Ellen Bogenschutz]

This does in fact portray the letdown after the hoopla around the Christmas and New Year's celebrations. So impressed with your poetic talents!

[LManning (Laura)]

You’ve really captured the bleak feeling.

[amyK]

Excellent image and poem

[Wendy]

Excellent composite that matches the poem perfectly. So sad to see small (and mid-size as well) cities dying from lack of business.
People who use strictly E-commerce will rue the day when E-commerce bites them back.
E-commerce does not have the loyalty of small town businesses.
E-commerce does not support small town sports or clubs.

[Delwyn Barnett]

I love the image and the impression it conveys. Great poetry - you are talented. I guess here in New Zealand it is summer, so we don't get the bleak, let down feeling that I understand could happen after the excitement of the festive season. Although the last ten days have been a bit dreary with remnants of cyclones hitting us.

[Boxplayer]

Desolate.

[Kathy A]

It does look a little bleak

[Helen Jane]

@ljmanning @dkbarnett thank you so much. I sometimes find that poetry helps me to express what I want to say more easily than prose. It stops me rambling on!

[Helen Jane]

@farmreporter I try to avoid ordering off the internet but it is becoming increasingly difficult. Our town has been drained of some of the most basic of shops. We have a number of thriving independents, which is great, but not so for the purse.