Blue

THE                        beam of sunlight slashed through the dirt encrusted skylight of the factory which sat on the eroded riverbank, and lit up the dingy blue painted front panel of the

MACHINE            which had worked quietly and efficiently 30 years ago, but

WAS                      now a sad reminder that some inventions are pertinent only in a limited time frame in this world and once

BROKEN               are not worth fixing.

THE                        young girl used dirty water and suds to scrub the huge blue painted surface of the old

MACHINE            as her parents and other community members lifted and scooped to re-purpose the decrepit building along the riverbank in what

WAS                      the part of town that no investor calculated could turn a profit because it had

BROKEN               the many companies that tried.

THE                        people walked and picnicked along the freshly landscaped riverbank in front of the new museum, sparkling white inside and out, that featured the

MACHINE            with the blue painted front – where skylight sun at different angles for 30 years of seasons had created a unique multi-hued sculpture – which

WAS                      viewed as

BROKEN               by no one.

Anne Pellett

C  – 2023