Smudge Pots

The great unheralded loss to society
In the shift from agrarian to industrial,
Is the modern interstate and superhighway
System that negates any feeling of neighborhood.

Back in the day, yeah that day,
When you had a long trip to make,
It meant traveling past unknown homes in
Little known community pockets.

Seeing a solemn, lonely, smudge pot
Along the side of the road near a driveway
Signaled that there had been a death in the
Family that lived there.

It didn't matter that you knew those folks not,
The grief hovering over their locales was known.
Humanity made brief yet necessary connections
Via passing cars and somber hearts.

Now we hop on the interstates or the super wides
And never see anything beyond shallowness en route.
Fireworks, food, and motel signs reflect modern passions.
We gained technology at the price of our birthright.