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Poppies - tjb |
The coral-colored poppies
with their feathery fern-like leaves
are long gone
So are the purple coneflowers
that grew by the white picket fence
along with a black raspberry bush
where mockingbirds used to nest
The tall evergreen tree near the house
with its twin trunks
where I would hang the bird feeders
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Trees - tjb |
is now a vine-covered stump
And the row of slender maples
have been reduced to decaying piles of pulp
Gone, too, are the three giant pines
that used to whisper in the wind
Even the little stream is clogged
and choked with weeds
The yarrow I planted has disappeared
No more morning glories
Good-bye, butterfly bush and flame lilies
Gone, all gone
because of men who arrive
armed with weed-whackers and lawnmowers
and ear-deafening leaf-blowers
and mechanical trimmers
The only thing left are lop-sided bushes
and a copse of tangled trees in the back
in the corner
and a few thrusting tulips
and some daring daffodils
and one little conifer who stands alone |
Miniature daffodils - tjb |
not much taller than I am
The bittersweet is still there
and my comfrey, and sweet mugwort
It makes me mad
but mostly I'm sad
because I do not feel protected any more
No longer safe within the circle of life
that used to surround me
It's cold and it's bare
and I no longer care
to be here, living where
there is so little regard for the natural world
Nothing stays the same, nothing lasts forever...
only my memories
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Bittersweet - tjb |