Sunday, May 22, 2016

I give up


When Fort Ord shut down it 1994 it was one of the largest base closures ever. The part facing US 101 and the Pacific became California State University-Monterey Peninsula while the rest was left to decay in the briny air blowing in from the ocean. A handful of wooden basic training barracks on the north end of the base have been converted to businesses but most, like my old crib, have withered away, a haven for the unseen.

Exploring the barracks it was clear that the closing had been haphazard and incomplete. Army manuals lay about and evidence of human habitation since the closure was everywhere. Graffiti was in florid display as if it’s destiny is to cover every vertical surface. 

A poem on a barracks door speaks achingly. "I can't get enough. Hoping that we never see the sun coming up. I give up." The dark wish asks us to write the ending.

2 comments:

Blacks Crossing said...

The photograph needed to be made and I am glad you did, along with other photographs that you no doubt made to conjure spirits of your life in the disintegrating hulk that was Fort Ord, The poem? Perhaps just meanderings but deep ones. No answers from me on that. But your prose "...but most, like my old crib, have withered away, a haven for the unseen" is genius. May the muse be with you this week as you complete preparations for the exhibit opening this weekend!

John Ellsworth said...

I love the commentary, old friend. Let's see that novel.