‘Good news…’ by Fauzia Rafique

i moved
to a place with a thick
patch of lush green trees
a block or so from me
fenced in exploration
was trespassing but
it was there on my way
home a privilege
to walk by hear the birds
chirp play fly
some squirrels rats
signs of hedgehogs
all kinds of people offencing
the fence
a lovely spring and
then the summer arrived
flowering bushes and blackberries
sprawled out of the fence
burying it in a cover
of color and nutrition
one morning
my neighborhood sounded
too busy for itself
heavy equipment moved in
and in the next four days
the trees were cut thrashed
raised to the ground, except for a couple
fronting the kgb, a decorative
marketing ploy, selling
the illusion of home
138 brand new
3-4 bedroom
1500-1750 sqft
townhomes.

Poisoned rats began to come
and die in my yard.
Birds went silent for a day
or two witnessing the deaths
we did not see.

Someone grieves, leaving signs
saying ‘i grieve’ at the scenes
of the crime. My friend, david dalley,
i grieve with you
and i demand from the city
and its developers (as they
make their money)
a tree
for a tree

a tree
for every tree

a tree
for every profit-damned earth-loving brown-ass tree

Plant it in
that neighborhood
as you make
your money.
A Tree For A Tree!
.

This poem is part of a larger work (in progress). First presented at the Literary Cabaret of ‘Sound Thinking Symposium 2015: Voicing the City In/verse‘, Surrey, Nov 28-29.
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