Ode to Suburbia

Shimmering suburban sunsets
On shivering suburban dreams
Timid, trembling, daytime dreams…
These are not the dreams of your childhood
These are not the dreams of your night-time
These are the dreams you forget when you sleep
Not when you awaken…
Those folkloric dreams they told you to dream
Dreams of stability, respect, and paid-up bills
Dreams from the dark places of our parents souls
But you dreamed them hard…
Hard enough to rise from bed, every day,
Cold, vulnerable, and tired, to chase the specter
Looking hopelessly for happiness, in the house,
In the car, the new sofa, the yard…
But those dreams are a shadow, not a wish,
And you can’t chase shadows forever,
They’re always a step ahead,
But in the meantime, until they flee,
Those shadow-dreams have substance here
In brick and mortar and car repayments
in slate and sprinklers and shag carpeting
In the Residents’ Association and charity whist
In red roofs and white fences and green lawns
Those shadows live…
Until they blow away like sorry wisps
And lay bare the suburban desert beneath....

Reviews

[Poeticadia]

This is chillingly accurate... suburbia as a dream you can never quite awaken from... dreams that are shadows that pursue you rather than ambitions you can achieve... and how these 'dreams' manifest themselves in the material possessions and associations that compensate us for everything spiritual that is lacking... until it all collapses around us in the realisation of the 'desert' that it is.

The repetitions, alliteration and the pace all conspire together to achieve the haunting sounds that reinforce the shadows. I love it. Perfect!

[.]

God-Suburbia-jesus-u expressed it perfectly-
every single line--
"Looking hopelessly for happiness, in the house,
In the car, the new sofa, the yard…
But those dreams are a shadow, not a wish,
And you can’t chase shadows forever,
They’re always a step ahead"
(a masterpiece my friend-now i have a suburbia headache lol :)

:)

[kelly]

excellent use of repetition, I grew up in the soulless suburb of westchester-paradise of status and american consumerism, so beautifully captured in your poem. It oddly enough reminds me of the aimless pursuit of things rather than of our own true happiness.

[Revolutionary]

How Grim.I get it I can't buy a dream.You had to make me feel so s****y for trying to.I like this cause it hit a nerve.I am not a write by the rules knd of girl and I can see you are not either.I hate it when people say I used too many syllables here and the lines did not hold pattern.This is true art not someone trying to be a proffesional poetI think you are unique

[ice]

Oh I like this one...suburbia destroyed my home county..the developement's had strange names..Pheasent Ridge..Buck Horn acres...Grand View Estates..
and in each one, the over mortgaged owner was worried about..

."those-shadow dreams".."
"In brick and mortar and car repayments
in slate and sprinklers and shag carpeting
In the Residents’ Association and charity whist
In red roofs and white fences and green lawns."

Love this poem....reminds me of a Malvina Reynolds song..."Little Boxes"

ice

[.]

. wow ... your choice of words is amazingly expressive ... and the word play and instances of alliteration beautifully enhance this write ... but the core is what i find most bewitching, captivating, haunting, enthralling and poignant ... i have always been measured on this scale and failed ... i have nothing ... i own nothing ... and as i gradually try and rebuild my life to a meaningful something ... sometimes ... just sometimes ... because of these expectations and definitions of society ... i don't feel bad about being in excruciating pain because i was demolished ... this is brilliantly written ... it's cutting edge and super relevant ...

[Truman S. Booth]

My goodness. Who would have thought anyone could make a poem about suburbia emotional?

But you did. I'm glad this is the first work of yours I clicked on, for now I am sure to read many others. I love everything in this poem, from the clever comparisons to the hints of humor mixed into the otherwise melancholy, hopeless text. "Those shadow-dreams have substance here"... wonderful line. It really made me stop and ponder. Well done.