pay attention, little girl,
gripping the green fence bars,
pay attention to the pond.
it retains the rain (unless a hurricane)
and gathers up the gunk
from homes beyond.
it withers in the seething heat,
swirls up continents of slime
and the politely-named
yet unexplained wastewater
atrophies, eutrophicates,
suffocates in lime-colored lawn spawn
nitrogen begets pathogen begets
Grendel of the pond.
turtles bake like muddy bricks
of bronze along the shore
ducklings wade in the gain
from us wanting more.
our demented retention
equals animal detention
we’re proton-neutron automatons
pressing forward, praising new
but we haven’t got a clue.
pay attention to the pond
before it’s gone.
—
Marie Burdett is a professional gardener and current MFA student at the University of St. Thomas, Houston. Her work has previously been published in Lucky Jefferson’s 365 Collection, The Cypress Dome Literary Magazine, and Forbidden Peak Press.
