The Way It Was
By Elizabeth Reeke
Such a glorious day in the marsh!
Muskrats repairing their homes,
A covey of ducklings skirting the shore,
Two great blues wading on impossibly long legs,
perfectly camouflaged for frog hunting.
All along the dike path, tangled grasses and cattails
bent in the breeze,
Dark silhouettes lurked in the shallows,
Crawfish scurrying over silt and pebbles,
Frogs surprised by my footsteps leaping in every direction!
I felt privy to a thriving community,
Each creature with a special role in this
harmonious cycle of life.
For myself, only a visitor here,
It struck me that even with all this abundance
and teeming activity,
There was a sense of immense silence,
A sweet presence that filled my heart.
Epilogue
Traces of prehistoric humankind have been found in the area
of today’s Great Meadows Wildlife Preserve dating back 13,000 years!* As of 2019/2020 increasingly high levels
of lead arsenic, chromium, and PCB’s have been measured greatly in excess of acceptable EPA standards, all
traceable to companies operating riverside.
This heartbreaking scenario, not limited to Great Meadows, faces an Administration set to further lower pollution standards, as well as eliminate necessary environmental reviews for approval of new manufacturing projects and pipelines.
Is this to be the legacy of our dwelling here?
Copyright © 2020 by Elizabeth Reeke.
* Carol E. Gupta, Concord’s Great Meadows: A Human History. Concord, Massachusetts: HayMeadows Press, 2004.