A Trip to the Dump
“THERE IS NO FEE FOR DEAD ANIMALS"
The sign in big red letters says
My grandfather stops by the window
Talking to the garbage man
Money is exchanged
My grandfather keeps on driving
We pass the animal drop off point
And I look the other away
Tractors and machines are organizing
The remnants of people's lives
Into big piles
To be covered up with dirt
Far away they look
Like little ants
Off in the distance
Over many piles
We stop by the most recent addition
Pulling up next to a pile of weeds
My mother opens the truck door
And the stench hits me
I try not to breath
As we enter into the wasteland
Full of decaying products
And things…
We pop open the back of the trailer
And I gaze at the cargo hold
Chock full of seventeen years of stuff
Long forgotten
My mother grabs a bag
And begins to throw
"This junk's not gonna move itself, you know."
I pick up a doll cradle
The forgotten dusty thing
Barely even used
I throw it and it breaks
Scattering wooden splinters
Far off on the ground
I find a box of coloring books next
Scribbled and destroyed
I chuck them
Some school things follow
Broken back packs
Rulers
Books
We get down to the dilapidated washer
My parents got for their wedding
"Your dad always said he was going to fix that."
Mom says
Onto the ground it falls
With a clang
There are only a few things left now
A chair of my great grandmother's
We got when she died
Which is ripped to shreds
Held together
With duct tape
Not anymore
We toss it
"Well, that's that," my mother says
We get back into the truck and drive away
My grandfather starts to go off
On insurance policies again
"You know, sometimes you wonder if
you wouldn't be more useful dead"
He jokes
"No," my mom says
We pass the animal drop off point
And I look the other way
Glad to be leaving the dump
That was formed decades ago
With generations of filth
We pass the garbage man
And as I wave out the window
He ignores me
The last thing I catch a glimpse of
Is the sign
"THERE IS NO FEE FOR DEAD ANIMALS"
And I look the other way
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