From Earth
© 2023 C. Jennifer Walbridge
We’re all from the Earth—
Dirty. (Wordy. Flirty!)
Seeing our aspects—other folks, other creatures—
Dead or alive, keeps us, sanely, to-get-Her.
Yesterday at work at the supermarket,
I saw lobster tails, wrapped for purchase; I
Don’t usually see those, but the New Year came
And, with my new grocery bagging job,
Wilder foodstuffs than in my daily life!
Our store sells warm chicken cheaper on Mondays;
When the customer brings them in their
Plastic bag, they smell: my body—mostly vegetarian,
Certainly not a fan of bird meat—must
Imbibe some. We share the air.
Care?
Likewise, the cleaning supplies aisle
Stinks to high heaven—like detergent, chemicals;
How do the odors, in thick plastic containers,
Emit?
Cleanly—meanly—
To my health?
Yet, soaps are needed to wash:
Dishes; clothes; floors; produce.
Soil.
Love!
Tomorrow—our next day; our
Children’s lifetimes.
Garden?
Wilderness?
Taming; using.
Sustaining; abusing.
Here us play
“To get Her:”
Is our planet really so hard to understand?
She asks us to be gentle on ourselves;
She is more than dirt; She is also snow.
So, frolic!