Nature is as nature was.

100 years ago
same river
same story
Has anything changed?
Bees still buzz.
The bees that know
I will quiver
in fear and broken glory,
when in the courtyard, they chase after me, deranged.
The trees have come down
but most stay
steady by the banks
tall and prideful
ready for science experiments and birds’ nests.
Bigger though, is the town.
Still, I say,
the old mill town never sank.
Even now, it’s mindful
that our earth is best.
The blue sky is estranged
in the morning
when the clouds have just come up
but have not yet figured out their places.
In Saxapahaw, it’s a beautiful sight.
Yes, things have changed.
Maybe there will be a warning
left by Hawbridge kids and coffee cups
to keep the village the way it was, leave the traces
of who we were, for the bodies 100 years from now, standing in the light.