Fading Communities
by Texaspoet
I went into one of
Our fading communities
The other day and sat
With one of the elders
In the land that
Had always been his
He told me a story
Of murder, death and rape
Of burnings
And methodical genocide
He talked of the dwindling
Younger folk who ranged
Less and less outward
Until they dwelt here alone
He spoke of being corralled
Into controlled areas
And denied access to native lands
And finally he told me sadly
Of a bleak future he had seen
In the eyes of strangers
Where the people have passed onward
And his kind are no more
Their gifts and heritage
Erased from the minds
Of a social conscience
That degrades and uses them.
I said
"That's the most horrible story,
I've ever heard,
Mister Tree."