Visiting a city you once knew
can be daunting
the familiar still nearly so
but so much has changed
the wild edges of town
we traversed as kids, tamed
the only thing wild is the
buffalo wing restaurant

Tall grasses near the reservoir
man-made lake with all
the natural kind offered a boy
frogs, fishing, a chance to swim
now neatly manicured
orderly in its faux naturalism

Our bike rides there would take
nearly an hour; little more
than wooded patches, vacant lots
between there and our homes

Now there are bike trails
part of a system geared toward
commuters more than young boys
seeking to explore, learn, ride
now families have places to picnic
tables, benches, neatly trimmed
grass, fancy playgrounds

Efforts at ‘preserving’ nature
seem even more hollow a gesture
when the bright green of the grass
shiny black of the asphalt
have taken over the color palette
Nature has become a
home improvement store
paint department –  natural colors
given way to vibrancy,  neon

In the store, at the lake
give me earth tones, baby

– Mark L. Lucker
© 2017
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