open space

i am walking
lost
wandering
through a place
where ancient
Americans
Native Americans
lived with god
respected the land
and prayed for peace
but the land has shrunk
overrun by cars and people
you now hear in the distance
from the strip malls and
overgrown houses
which have staked claim to the land
and have driven god herself out

the cars and people
haunt the open land
that once stretched freely for miles
suffocate the spirit
too close and bullying
for anyone to make a meaningful connection
with nature

the small track of land
is now a token speck of open space
surrounded by a suffering civilization
hell bent on
self destruction
(and they don’t even know it)