I’ve been a lot
of places,
but this land
I grew up knowing
that has suddenly
changed
is by far the
most preposterous
and dismal.

They’ve torn
down the
mountains
and hauled
them away
in big trucks,
and widened
the roads
stretching
miles out of town
to anywhere else.

There’s a menagerie
of gas stations
and fast food
and amenities
designed just for
pit stops
because no one
wants to stay
here anymore
in the town that
used to be a forest,
but now is
nothing but
high gray walls.