In the park,
a flock of geese
peck at the wet grass,
tranquil
in the amber morning sun.
a flock of geese
peck at the wet grass,
tranquil
in the amber morning sun.
Across the street,
a bulldozer is moving bare earth,
where a row of alders stood
only the day before.
a bulldozer is moving bare earth,
where a row of alders stood
only the day before.
To the
right, behind the trees,
heavy equipment grumbles
and stutters, heaves and groans,
clearing the site of
the helicopter pad.
heavy equipment grumbles
and stutters, heaves and groans,
clearing the site of
the helicopter pad.
A large white truck is idling
at Tonquin apartments,
Arbor Services lettered
on its side.
Then the chain saw fires up.
All day long, its hungry roar
rends the air -
a scream that bites,
as the trees tremble.
By late afternoon,
a lovely maple
and three alders
have become stumps.
on its side.
Then the chain saw fires up.
All day long, its hungry roar
rends the air -
a scream that bites,
as the trees tremble.
By late afternoon,
a lovely maple
and three alders
have become stumps.
The geese
have moved on,
hoping to find a quieter place.
A young woman tenderly
places flowers
on a bleeding stump,
In Memoriam.
hoping to find a quieter place.
A young woman tenderly
places flowers
on a bleeding stump,
In Memoriam.
The
soundscape at Tonquin apartments one day
in late November, 2018.
Shared with the Poetry Pantry at Poets United, where there is great reading every Sunday morning.
One day the trees are all going to rise and do to us what we do to them... we saw here old trees hacked down mercilessly to make way for the metro rail.. progress at what cost!?
ReplyDelete'Arbor Services' seems a sadly ironic name. Arbor Destroyers, more like. You create the scene vividly! I like the detail of the flowers on the stump (and the photo to prove it).
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly.
DeleteI sincerely hope the geese find a better place.. such an evocative write, Sherry!
ReplyDeleteOnly one who has heard the forest's deep silence can feel the absence constructed here. A helicopter pad? Now there's a satanic goose.
ReplyDeleteThe woman's gesture, though seemingly futile, is appropriate. Destruction must be memorialized.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder (or hope, perhaps) if the people who do this kind of work scream in their nightmares... without knowing why.
ReplyDeleteTouching. The price of modernisation. Luv the empathy of the flowers
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday Sherry
Muchđź–¤love
There are cases when a tree or two needs to be taken down (for the sake of other trees)... but to this sounds like Trump's version of forest management (cut it down)
ReplyDeleteI love the close here Sherry! It is sad how many trees we destroy with little or no reason
ReplyDeleteUgh. I watch all the construction around here: sell a stretch of forest, mow it down, build a building, sell the next stretch, leave the existing empty, put up a new building...
ReplyDeleteI wish we could reclaim abandoned sites/bldgs instead of laying waste to more wild lands.
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful title, Sherry - it sets up the destruction that follows, so impactfully. That - as well as the plethora of visual and audio images you've infused the piece with it - are so well done. Your reader proceeds from title-to-close as if they are - themselves - there: a bystander watching the ruination go down.
ReplyDeleteMankind have lost their minds in this addiction for profit regardless of consequences. What an ugly race we have become. Daly there are tales like this throughout the world.
ReplyDeleteOops! That word should be Sadly!
DeleteThis is so sad I hate the thought of a bleeding tree stump. You describe this scene so well. The reality of it breaks my heart.
ReplyDeleteWhat do we do with this kind of development?!
ReplyDeleteHow you build on this sad story in this setting and image is powerful in its detail and emotive in its experience. Beautiful writing, Sherry!
this is a very impactful poem, Sherry.
ReplyDeletesadly, in most cities and towns, corporations look on these spaces as a bottom line.
Oh no, so sad to see the trees disappearing
ReplyDelete