Burry me in hills and valleys. Watch the world dip into itself and circle back to the beginning. This land was once good. It was meant to nurture. It held rich soil and wildflowers bloomed all year round. It laid rest in the sunshine and stretched its arms out to hold onto the frost for safekeeping. Everything gets ruined when our hands keep reaching for more. I smell forest fires in my sleep and pray that the deer forgive us for taking their homes. Maybe the birds never needed to fly away until we scared them off. I count the gold teeth behind every smile and wonder if it was worth it. I tuck myself away in a quiet thicket and feel like I’ve been here all along. I hold flowers in my palms and ask the earth to feed me in ways I can’t. The trees sigh and I swear I hear them crying- maybe they’re begging for an end to this. I question what’s left of my surroundings. I apologize on behalf of humanity and I hope it echoes through the breeze – what have we done? I hope it can still bloom. I hope the trees forgive us, but I don’t see how they ever could. -AMT ©️