salting the earth

use the salt, you insist
having stayed my hand
concluding: it’s cheaper

i stare open-mouthed
as effectual you turn
and stride sternly away

so very cunning are you
clinically capable even
of extracting such woe

from the very earth
you unwilling inhabit
salting her dusty flesh

for you have i this land
too repeatedly raped
baring roots to the sun

grass have i torn from
refuge soil toiling
like a man possessed

covering dirt with stone
have i shorn the earth
of life—yet hope resides

and now you decide that
i should salt this earth
to ensure its utter demise

i grunt in resignation
grab the bag, confirming
how quickly life withers

beneath your touch

Salt Lake City 14 Oct 2012