Sophie
~who does not know her name means wisdom~
dives for her dinner in the dumpster in the alley
tosses the remnants down the drain meant for rain and snow
down into the river
straight to the river
the river the EPA watched for decades
the river where sturgeon are spawning again
the river where otters will now find Sophie’s chicken bones
Sophie
~who has never noticed the river nor seen the great lake attached to it~
lives a quarter mile from a 96-foot downtown waterfall
and a mile from any real grocery store
and across the street from last night’s shooting of another teenager
and has no idea what a sturgeon is
Sophie
~whose landlord needs the late rent by this Friday~
does not notice the peregrine falcon flying above her
nor the heavy toxins in the air around her
nor the impossible to remediate lead in the soil
and yet We
expect Sophie to care
—
Pamela Norton Reed is CEO of a nonprofit conservation organization where she focuses on environmental justice and nature equity while inspiring people to act on behalf of our planet. Through her poetry and prose, she explores the connections between the beauty of the natural world and the realities of our modern world.
