Member-only story
Prose Poetry
Tidal Waves
How many animal massacres does it take to wake the masses?
People ask, why do bad things happen to good people? You know, those shoes falling? I don’t think it’s a matter of God deciding, he’s gonna get this; she that. Not karma either. So yes, bad things do happen to everyone. Lately, those stinky shoes keep falling on my mom. Losses, left and right, but not right at all. Maybe stinky shoes are just a natural fact of being 84. She doesn’t deserve them. She changes her socks daily. Sure, she wasn’t the best mom, and maybe she’s at times a little self-centered, but still, stop it with the shoes! What’s with these rotten shoes anyway? Are they mere tidal waves of historical choices? Why did tidal waves wash ashore all those dead mussels the other day? Mom and I were walking on the beach just north of her home when we encountered thousands of dead mussels, brilliant blue mollusks dotting the sands, and what looked like plastic ovals with rings like the ones on tree trunks. Thousands of shells. Everywhere. Plasticky clear obliques too. Curious, I pulled out my phone and googled, an article pointed to warmer waters being the cause. We both suspected as much and the onslaught tempered our mood. Here was climate change plain as day. Here was history. Here was relationship, mother/daughter. Were we witnessing an eco crisis? My mom has lived on…
