A Flatlander's Fears for the Future

I remember my first day in the Green Mountain State

Astonishingly lush with trees filling the sky

Some locals called us flatlanders--we laughed

Because however beautiful, how could the grey Vermont sky and forested mountain ranges ever be compared to the colors of an Albuquerque sunset or the curves of  the Sandia Mountains?

But my family and I, we have grown accustomed to the mood swings of weather and gentle calm of communities

We almost forget what true, real, cities are like until we drive 30 minutes out

Where we see people yelling at the sky on the street, bare feet, shivering

Vapes and cigarettes littered on the ground-- we try to ignore more sinister objects 

Cardboard clutched with sharpied whispers of 'anything helps'

And we feel it the back of our minds as we drive 30 minutes back

But my family and I, we have grown accustomed to the little array of skin tones, the cars inching forward without a care

I am afraid 

That Vermont will change-or stay the same

That drugs and illness will turn our home into the same one we left, the one that led us across the country

That naive, unbothered minds will not think to try and make a change, and our state will die out old and grey

That Vermonters will never realize that 1, softserve and creemees are the same, and 2, only one of them is the right name

Some locals called us flatlanders- we laughed

Though the future is uncertain for both of my homes-and some will never change-each to their own-2050 will be different with both cons and pros

2050, maybe, more diverse

2050, maybe, the addictions are worse

2050, maybe, the land is gone

2050, maybe, we will be strong

One day I will go back to a land of turquoise and tumbleweeds

The differences may be stark but both places have their light and dark

The smell of chili and sandstorms

I remember my last day in the Land of Enchantment