the birds moved across the sky peppering the sky in a regular grey unafraid, it seems, of what could be to come.
their largest problem is that the tree is out of bright red berries that keep them fed.
and so the jump off the empty, bare tree, and swoop upwards but then their wings fall to their sides, and they bullet towards the ground seeming close to death.
but then their wings open up and they glide gracefully to that second tree.
My hands brush against the dead grass, something once so green now unrecognizable. The sky is black with smoke, though there are no clouds. I pull up my mask slightly, trying to stop ash from getting inside. We use masks for more than one reason now. I look up, trying to spot the once-bright sun up in the sky. It is small, a pinpoint of brightness. I don't have to shield my eyes to look at it anymore, as it is but a fraction of what it once was. I stand, trying to act brave. My final day on earth will be a good one. I stand, and start walking along the sidewalk, looking at things that once were beautiful that are now only a small bit of what they were before. Green is a rare sight to see normally, but I know just the place. I pass a clumb of bare spots in the grass. Once trees, cut down. Then tree stumps, rooted out for more wood. Now bare spots in the grass reminding us of our broken past.
On September 18th, 2020, Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away. One of the three women on the Supreme Court, she fought for Women's Rights. In memory of her, I found 9 of her quotes that may ring true for all of us.
1."When I'm sometimes asked 'When will there be enough (women on the Supreme Court)?' and my answer is: 'When there are nine.' People are shocked. But there's been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that." 2."We are a nation made strong by people like you." 3. "My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent." 4. “Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” 5. "Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time." 6. "I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability."
