Unnecessary Fences

Wild, rampant nature, thriving
in the jungles, where I never go.
I’m sure it’s very beautiful--
more so than the kudzu here at home.

But green and brown are all I have--
the living patches we don’t need to change.
The ground that we can live around--
Between the roads and parking lots we paved.

I know that it’s your job to keep it
“pretty” and protected from abuse.
But how much damage could I do
By walking through the mulch, between the bushes?

I, and maybe others, have
for years been carving out the perfect path.
It’s narrow, shallow, winding, and
the bushes, undisturbed, are growing fast.

But you don’t like it, do you, sir?
You think I’m just a nuisance, just a weed.
A human footprint in the mulch
is somehow detrimental to the scene.

So now, we have this ugly fence--
To keep me from enjoying it this way.
For “beauty’s” sake, you ruined it.
You may as well have paved it all away.