It wasn't always like this
Chalk rings marking years when it was good and we were bad
White like the streaks of cloud across an August sky
Tick mark scars count every abuse on growing red walls
A scorched blue puddle at their feet.
It wasn’t always like this.
We were young once and powerful too
I swam through you as you ran through me,
Green scoured your shore,
Luck lined mine
And damn anyone who tried to tame us.
Now your skin is parched gold
Lined and flaking off like scales
You bake in unrelenting sun
While concrete sentries hold you captive
Streaks of opalescent oil fester like a thin veneer
You were fast once,
but now you beat slow,
It wasn’t always like this.
C. L. Brenton