Memories dot our roadsides,
Highway or rural it matters not.
Monuments hammered with tears serve as reminders,
Whitewashed, makeshift,
Adorned in faded flowers,
Bleached to muted hues by the noonday sun.
At times dressed with images,
Perhaps names or signs–loves of their lives;
Each one a silent storyteller.
Embarrassed, I often pass without offering a sympathetic glance,
Too consumed with my own circumstance to take notice.
This is not out of cruelty,
Nor is it for a lack of compassion,
But instead due to the chaos of everyday life.
Still–upon further reflection, I wonder…
Whose daughter, son, mother, father were they?
What story do they have to tell,
What were their hopes and dreams,
Are those left behind coping?
Questions are these for which I have no answer.
A solitary cross marks a souls final earthly moment,
Pleading to be noticed and remembered.
I hope to take the time, if only a moment
To wish their spirits well
And to pray for closure for those left behind.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 
Beautiful.
Thank you so very much.
This is lovely Dom, I think we all pass by slighty embarrassed and uncomfortable.
I just realized it on Friday. I spend a moment thinking about a small roadside cross that I pass everyday driving home. I felt somewhat embarrassed. Thank you so much for understanding Gilly, I am certain that we all have done this at one time or another.
This makes me think of an incident near my hometown. A Maine man was shot (and killed) on I-81 here in PA about 2 months ago … roadside shootings are unheard-of here … we still don’t know who was responsible. And the family is still waiting for closure. I don’t know if there is a memorial cross at the slaying site – they might not be allowed to do that yet – with the investigation still being open.
I see these little roadside crosses all of the time and just the other day I realized how seldom I even give them second thought. We actually don’t have many roadside shootings here, but there does seem to be many hit-and-runs, I’m not really sure why.
The roadside shooting was the first here, as far as I can tell … but we’ve had a spate of hit-and-runs too.
So much pain. :(
It is very painful for the families I am sure, I know how I would feel. Very sad and painful.
Ahhhh… Beautiful…
Thank you very much, this one came to me on my drive home.