Long Gone

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

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

Bittersweet - tjb