it was a pond

before it was this yard and house
it was undeveloped
apparently that means our family
was the first to live in this spot
going back a couple hundred years
some say this was wetlands
part of an enormous lake or pond
depending on who you talk to
going back a couple hundred years
means the previous inhabitants
might well have been original settlers
or even indigenous people
their land became this neighborhood
in this new england city
every map I can find as old as I can find
show this neighborhood as a pond
or undeveloped wetlands
sitting now enjoying the spring sounds
in the small woods surrounded by city
registering this moment
as a moment in the collection I am building...