THE ROAD BETWEEN

Here and there is evidence that a road once connected my place to yours. In places, parallel ruts filled with leaves and pine needles are still plainly visible running alongside a water-filled ditch. In other places, however, trees and bushes have found root in the midst of what was once the road, and downed trees and branches further obscure the forgotten route. A culvert, which was originally designed to contain the flow of a seasonal brook which intersected the road, is now plugged with all sorts of debris. At some point the stream flooded against the plugged culvert, and now its banks are littered downstream with crushed white gravel that used to cover the surface of the road.

At one time, someone believed the road important enough to defend it against the encroaching forest and invest money toward its maintenance. It used to be a ribbon of white through the green woods. I wonder why the road was surrendered. Why did people stop coming and going along that way?  Most likely, it was a victim of disuse over the quiet years as leaves settled and trees fell uncontested across the traveled way between my place and yours.