maybe one day I will tell my children

maybe one day I will tell my children⁣
about days when I took baths full of water⁣
when I ran an online business⁣

maybe I will tell them about flavors evoked
through cooking elaborate meals⁣
spices from the world around ⁣
while I watch a candle flicker on their faces⁣

maybe I will tell them ⁣
the way flowers used to bloom⁣
the way I filled my shopping cart with Christmas decorations

how in 2020 I made resolutions for growth, abundance⁣

maybe I will tell them about Exxon in the 80s⁣

about the melting Arctic ice⁣

maybe I will tell them about the Arctic⁣

maybe I will tell my children ⁣
about the way 7 billion people⁣
once existed on the planet⁣

maybe I will tell them about coastal cities⁣

maybe I will tell my children ⁣
about Australia burning⁣

Just an entire continent, burning⁣

I will tell them how Notre Dame was bigger news⁣

I will tell them how my nipples caused more commotion than ⁣
Australia ⁣

maybe I will tell my children⁣
as we chop vegetables we grew ourselves⁣
in the dark⁣
that the richest men in the world thought the solution was Mars⁣

maybe I will tell my children⁣
they are alive because their parents had pieces of green paper⁣
that those were worth more than love⁣
or kindness⁣

maybe I will tell my children about toilets⁣
and plumbing systems ⁣
as I wash their hair in rivers ⁣
maybe I will tell them about how I flew through the air⁣
how I drove across the country⁣
maybe I will tell them about cars⁣
and gas ⁣

maybe I will tell them how Australia was burning ⁣
but we were concerned with killing people in Iran⁣
and stopping the use of plastic ⁣
straws⁣

maybe I will tell them that the people who used to lead us ⁣
were more bothered by my womb than the loss of entire species ⁣

maybe I will tell my children ⁣
about hope ⁣

maybe I will tell them hope can be denial ⁣

maybe I will tell my children ⁣
how the world I brought them into ⁣
is ending⁣

maybe I will not have children

 

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