Once a road

Once a road

is changed

by forces

wielded by man

It becomes a path

that no one

at last

can walk down

Once a field

is lost

to the clean scrape

of heavy machinery

It’s like a dream

once dreamed

then nothing

revealed

Once a forest

is clear-cut

to make room

for new

It’s as if a young boy

had never felt

at home

passing through

Once a mountainside

is strip-mined

to provide heat

in a cold clime

It’s as if a habitat

once flourishing

had never been

at any time

Once a river

is dredged

to make depth

for a deeper barge

It’s never again

a quiet shallow stream

encouraging enough

for life to swim

Once a world

is changed by man

and never quite

as he planned

If he should

fall victim

to his own hand

It’s not likely

that man

will emerge

again

1/22/01