earth days

What if we had to pay for thunder
if lightning and wind and sunshine were taxed
what if tokens were required
to hear Redtails scream keeee
or we were made to drop coins
when worms rose from the rains
let’s subsidize damsels and dragons who mate
like heart shapes pulsing as they procreate
let’s pay the ants, black and red, army strong,
salary stink bugs, and deer ticks, horse flies and moths
let’s Tik Tok the white pines where they all live
let’s pitch in for oaks, and cypress, and gingkoes,
a pop for each cherry blossom, five for a twig,
tariff moss, and squirrels and sea urchins and
air.
let’s pay interest on beaches, the seagrass, the sweetgrass,
blue grass, and wheat and forests of acorns
let’s donate our souls for the stones we bring home
infuse every cent, manmade of course,
into the war torn, routed planet
we take for granted.

You see,
I’m trying to imagine an existence for us
nondependent of earth,
our paradise, our home
sleep, yes, I can absolutely do that on my own
in a bed built of wood laid with cotton sheets
and dyes well, from likely
petrochemicals – oil and gas
But okay, what if they’re “naturally colored” from these:
roots, berries, bark,
leaves, wood
lichens, bugs
OURS, am I right,
to transform into linens,
and flannels, and wools, and sateen
and then there’s the floor where my feet land at dawn
(wood, clay, synthetic tiles, plastic shag or berber)
we are always the predator, manufacturer, the owner
twenty-four hours ongoing seven days long
Okay
put your shoes on, buttercup, go for a walk
don’t get started on figuring out the carbon footprint
of your outfit
which bottom line affects only the following things:
water resources, energy consumption, pollution throughout
plus, all stages of waste
from the ground up
So…
you’re walking
lucky you if it’s on some dirt, like the
earth,
is it possible our consumption will never recede
try something,
anything
look carefully
at greed.

*

Tuni Deignan’s memoir Underwater Daughter – A Memoir of Survival and Healing was published in May 2023 with She Writes Press. It received the Bookfest Award First Place 2023 winner in memoir, a First Place award in the Journey category of the 2023 Chanticleer International Book Award, and a Gold Medal for memoir in the 2024 Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY). She has been an active member of The Grind since July 2024.