Clear Cut

by Dee Allen, USA

Clear-cut
Land improvement
To selfish minds—
“Development”

Clear-cut
Introduction of the strange
To the woodland expanse—
Profits in the short range

Enter the long trucks
Enter the cranes
Loggers activate saws
Roaring throughout the terrain

Ancient wood meets spinning steel
Guided by human hands
Stumps & brambles shall remain
Of the green cathedral that stands

Clear-cut
Concentration
Upon long range
Devastation

Clear-cut
Disrespect
To the wild that made us—
Behold the greenhouse effect

Sing a soft requiem
To the disappearing forest
Its replacement:
A credit to “progress”

Downfall
Of wood & leaf
Grounded timber
In favour of concrete

The land is fallow
And then what?
Whether trees return
Isn’t so clear-cut

Give or take another
Hundreds of years
Steady warming of the earth
Confirms our darkest fears

Clear-cut
Concentration
Upon long range
Devastation

Clear-cut
Ambuscades
Until we take to the wilderness
And block the sawblades.

W: 5.17.09
[ For Steve Jacobson. ]
[ Originally published in Tree Life ‘Zine #2 – Fall 2009. ]