you might not know

 

you might not know

You might not know to mourn. You might not know to pause and allow the grief. After all, the birds you see still soar. You might not know to feel the hollow ache of loss for bodies of water or animals and fish that have gone extinct. After all, the eagle still guards the river. You might not know the empty free fall through total darkness, where the wolves of time and industry have poisoned the land and put particles into the air fouling everything, your lungs and the brain cells of our children sullied, literally, polluted by these chemicals and fallout. After all, the otters still sneak past the mystery of the river.