
Because they understood the risks. And land was plentiful elsewhere.
I am the developer who purchased the land to subdivide into lots.
I am the realtor who brokered the sale.
I am the banker who unleashed the money.
I am the insurance company who weighed the odds.
I am the lawyer who presented the plans to the township.
I am the council member who voted “yes";
a builder myself. Or a landscaper. Or a lawyer.
I am the architect, the builder, and the builder’s work crew.
I am the buyer who always wanted to live near the water.
I am the mortgage company that said, sure!
I am the homeowner’s insurance company that also agreed.
I am the citizen
who sees glaciers melting
and ice caps receding
(along with my hairline, my salary, and gums).
I see a monoculture of humans, shoving aside most all other species, overcrowding a fragile lifeboat,
and I change the channel.
I am the mother who would go six shades of ballistic to save my children from a predator,
but who cannot stop dumping poisons into their bodies, into their world, with every mile I drive;
With every empty room I heat or cool;
With every blade of grass I cut with a gasoline mower.
Hundred-year storms are getting bigger, lasting longer, hitting harder.
The climate may be changing
but so can I.