He threw the damnable thing
into the heart of the brackish
pond and watched it float then
sink below the blue-green scum.
The enormity of its weight
was lifted from him and then
it fell away. He gave the sign
that read NO LITTERING
a little kick and let go, too,
of that bit of guilt. Let it be
an offering to the muck,
a meal for cyanobacteria,
electrons feeding electrolytes.
Let the corrosive monster
corrode alone. He shouldered
his pack and took a drink and
headed up the trail to see at last
the world through his own eyes.
