Today's poem is Whose Woods by Mike Bove. It is read by Gibson Fay-LeBlanc.
Whose Woods
We walk the path by the pond
to see six acres
recently up for sale.
The dog's nose
whispers above deer tracks.
How long until it will sell,
you want to know,
how many houses and where
will the road go?
There and there, I point,
and we see flags of neon tape
tied at intervals around young maples.
When I was your age
I was with friends
in the trees and one day
there were the same
little flags. We knew
our woods were lost.
We pulled them all down
anyway, in case there was a chance.
And now you see a flash of white.
And now four deer bounce out ahead.
And now the dog yelps and pulls.
You say you'll be sad
when the houses come,
and the road.
A red-tail appears and makes circles
over the pond.