Member Poem

Do not write about the trees
I say to myself
Because it has been done
Before
Because they do not need you
To  make them beautiful
Write about
The industrialized metropolis
Of overcrowded subways
Of exhaust curling softly
From traffic locked cars
Or bottle caps
And thick,
Smoky air
Plumes of smoke now a compliment
To starless skies
Or highways, black tar and effervescent lines
Stretching farther than any forest
You can imagine
Flattening a once lush landscape with inescapable simplicity
And slate gray medians
 
Maybe
If you can make them beautiful
We will destroy them, too
Just like we so willingly destroy
What beauty
We already have.
 
 (Previously published in Northbound and Notable)