The Spirit Room has no spirit,
lost in quiet darkness.
The sad siren call of a lone singer on the stone steps
bounces off the cold façades of shuttered businesses.
Friday night in Jerome, Arizona,
frozen by the virus and chaotic guidelines.
Streets once bustling with laughter, rock and roll, and vehicles
now lay in ghost-town silence,
save for the sad siren call of a lone singer on the stone steps.
Continue for the story behind this poem…
© Copyright 2020—Present, Jenise Cook, All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
First Published: 26 August 2020 by Spillwords Press.
Image Credit: RyanMcGuire on Pixabay.com
The Story Behind this Free Verse
I live in the north-central highlands of Arizona, near Sedona. There’s a mountain range and rural, old mining towns between us and the red rocks. One of those towns, Jerome, Arizona, is built precariously into the mountain side. It’s a tiny town visited annually by thousands of tourists who know Jerome for it’s Halloween celebrations, art galleries, restaurants, and… the Spirit Room, a very popular music venue. Imagine streets and sidewalks always filled year round with families, couples, urbanites, nature lovers, four-wheelers, and bikers. For a former ghost town, Jerome always sparkled with life.
One July evening 2020, after spending the day in Sedona and eating dinner in Cottonwood at Colt Grill, my husband and I drove to Jerome. It was the first time we had been in Jerome since SARS-CoV-2 first broke out. My heart sank as the empty streets greeted us. Not a soul nor a spirit wandered Jerome. It was, once again, a ghost town.
When we reached the stop sign at the Spirit Room, a lone singer sat on the old stone steps across the road, singing a mournful tune, three pedestrians his only audience.
I was so taken aback by the scene I forgot to capture any video or photos. I wish I had, to document what the virus did to Jerome. Instead, I composed this free verse to try and ease the sadness in my heart.
Note: Jerome willingly shut itself down almost completely. A few restaurants and essential businesses remained open at that time. The town is in a remote location with limited medical services, plus an older population. Currently, the Spirit Room has Empty Bar concerts they livestream on their Facebook page. It’s BYOB, and go sit on those old, stone steps across the street. Love it!! When Jerome reopens, I’m guessing they’ll throw the biggest party the town has ever had in its history.
Your Turn
In the Comments below, feel free to share your memories of 2020. I’m here to listen. Lockdowns and stay-at-home times affected us all deeply.
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Thank you for reading. Come along on my adventures.
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