How Soon Poem by Deanna Samuels

How soon
How soon will this country graveled road be lost to tarmacadam
As yet so far out into the sparsely inhabited farms and rural homes
Fields abound each side producing food crops for the population
Lush green meadows for cattle and sheep to graze and roam

Numerous trees and bushes align the generous sized fields
Small ravines and copse fit snugly within the scenic pastures
Rivers and brooks run lazily around the sloping grasslands
Winding their way through hamlets, fields and forests

Yet, a mile away, such was similar countryside so short a distance
Development crept in and invaded those nearby places
Countless hectares already lost under cement and concrete
That land, that glorious land, has disappeared, obliteration its fate

How soon
How soon then will this quiet country road and all about it stay
From the speed of development it would seem not too far away
The official white and yellow notice boards bear the grim news
Applications have been made to build, build, build in profuse

Nearby residents will protest and try to have their say
Perhaps a few minor revisions will be stingily granted to sway
Then targeted area will soon be churned up to prepare for new town
The sereneness of this country graveled road will then become undone


Written between Richmond Hill and Courtice, Ontario - 2nd March 2018