IMPROVED ROADS

Paved roads lead to interstates
which all wind up in a large city
where nothing good for me awaits
just crowded masses without pity

Yet when one goes the other way
road surfaces become unpaved
with just scant gravel over clay
where roadside growth is misbehaved

These are the roads which I prefer
where old trucks can leave a cloud of dust
while I seek fin, feather or fur
among a world I know and trust

Old two tracks through forests and field
the more they twist and dip the better
their rough ride serves as filter shield
especially when the weather's wetter

The best are those without a bridge
with shallow fords to cross the creeks
after dipping from a wooded ridge
or even distant mountain peaks

They tunnel 'neath green canopies
through column rows of brown and gray
formed by ancient sentinel trees
which nearly block the light of day

With scattered home steads here and there
some deserted, others occupied
farmers making their living where
their father's father lived and died

So put me on the road that follows
the footsteps of my kindred men
who also loved these wooded hollows
which empty into fertile fen