Today is all about the Earth. At least the ninety minutes or so I spend picking up litter. I advance down the sidewalk outfitted in the holy equipment of the Order of the Weekend Ecowarriors: cheap gloves, crummy wooden tongs, and a green shirt. Alas, they aren’t enough to protect me. A branch scratches me as I dislodge a stubborn plastic bag. Doesn’t the shrub know I’m trying to help? Falling back, my blood drips onto plastic wrappers that crinkle like dried leaves, the detritus of the autumn of man. Maybe the plant knows me, knows us, all too well.
Owen Hunter lives in upstate New York and works as an environmental engineer. He likes science fiction and fantasy books, snow, and sharp cheddar cheeses.