There is a stretch of land
I pass by every day.
It was home to a forest
weeks ago. Now: decay.
Trees have been felled
one after the next.
Fresh roadkill from the
creatures that once called
these woodlands home
now litter the highway:
— deer,
— raccoons,
— groundhogs,
— foxes,
— opossums.
In a year “affordable family homes
starting in the mid-$400s” will have
their foundations laid.
I no longer understand the definition of affordable in this world, but the mid-$400s isn’t it.
Not for the price of trees laid waste.
The animals big and small
evicted from their homes
without a moment’s notice.
All for a townhouse.
Or a condo.
Or a two-story home with a
brick veneer wrap.
And a resident-only fitness center 90% of the future residents will never use.
In the summer, enjoy our saltwater-style pool with a picturesque view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background.
The horizon no longer obstructed by hundred year old oaks, maples, and hickory.
We chopped it down to the bone.
Every square inch of forest
that once thrived here
except for a handful of oaks
marking the outer boundary.
All for you:
Your townhouse wasteland.
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