“Surface Dwellers”

by Shelly Moore Caron

•

Surface dwellers —

unable,

or unwilling,

to break through the topsoil.

To muddy their hands,

to feel the earth squirm alive

between their fingers.

•

They won’t look for worms,

won’t carve their own hooks,

won’t cast a line into murky water

and wait.

•

They want their fish

prepackaged.

Frozen.

Deboned.

Sanitized by someone else —

someone unafraid

to reach into the dark

and pull up what is hidden.

•••