20160813 (sinkhole)

We've all wondered what of our civilization would survive a cataclysmic disappearance of our species. Turns out, they'd all do very well--better, perhaps.

For all my bitching about the

Heamidity, I’ve got to admit the

Nightly (sometimes daily) rains

Have helped some swathes of

Brown grass to green up as Loki

And I make the morning walk

Around the block. So much of 

The soil in this area is just sand,

As the construction north of me 

Illustrates—twenty-five feet of

It, at least, who knows how much

Further. If you’ve ever played as

A child at the beach attempting 

To make a tiny pond and watched 

As you poured your bucketsful 

Of water sucked away quickly

Into the depths, you have a fair

Notion of the difficulty of getting

Grass to stay green through a 

Summer here on the near west 

Side. If you’d like a green lawn

Be prepared to churn a lot of 

Topsoil, compost, peat moss

Into the surface sandy soil

And pray the tendrils of the

Grass weave that precious 

Fabric underground to keep 

It all from washing away.

Sadly weeds do a lot better

In sandy soil where they are

Capable of taking on whatever

Water trickles through between

The grains. They thrive in the

Parks as if tended by some 

Perverse gardener who wants

To remind you, “This once was

All beach—and may be beach

Again.” The other peril of 

Sandy soil (I once dated a

Sandy Soyule) is their proclivity

To form sinkholes from that

Same water washing through 

The ground and carrying with it

Any loose grains until finally

There’s not enough structure

Left to support the weight above.

Could be the rains, more often in

Cities it’s leaks from poorly joined

Sewer pipes which begin the 

Erosion. There are a couple such

Small areas along my path to the

Park—areas that the city periodically

Refills with dirt having a higher 

Proportion of clay to only temporary

Effect. Sometimes it’s a year, 

Sometimes only months, before 

The depressions reappear. Mama

Nature is a tough old girl who is

Hard to beat at her own game.

I’ve read the books and seen the

Documentaries that speculate

Exactly how the world would

Deteriorate and return to its

Primeval state without our 

Constant maintenance and

Rebuilding. These are humbling

Studies that show the forces

Of nature will get on very well

Without us. We are only fooling

Ourselves, like Ozymandias, to 

Think arrogantly we are permanent,

Undefeatable additions to the scene.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016