The Skyscraper 
by Riverdave Owen
4/22/14 - Earth Day 2014
Two Blackgum trees discussed their views
In Durham's plaza where
A rumor of a skyscraper
Was drifting through the air.
One asked, What kind of careless plan
Has come up with this scheme
To shade us from our brother sun
Thus limiting his beam.
Were we not planted here to thrive
Far from our forest home
To give relief from city stress
And brighten up this zone?
Her sister tree agreed and said
It feels like arrogance
This human thrusting in the sky
With concrete, steel and glass.
Could Durham not prove different
Than Raleigh and the rest
Of adolescent urban towns
With towers so obsessed?
The former tree then sighed and said
We've seen it all before
These Babel building mortals want
A name for evermore.
A shiny crystal skyscraper
Will certainly entice
The Nimrods of investment to
Rebuild their Paradise,
Of ever flowing asphalt streams
And fields of parking deck
Mighty men in business suits
With bows of higher tech.
And then her sylvan sister said
One thing still troubles me
Our proud Tree City Flag unfurled
At Plaza CCB.
Will it not be eclipsed by their
Skyscraper cleverness
And fail to rally energy
For our green consciousness?
A gentle breeze blew through the leaves
Of those fair Blackgum trees
And carried forth their ponderings
To those with sympathies ...
Photos by Riverdave: Blackgum trees planted by the City of Durham at the CCB Plaza to be shadowed by rumored skyscraper |