futile

today is a day of thick skies and persistent rainfall. with memories of the sight of useless storm drains sending water further downhill, i picked a fallen branch from my neighbor's yard and searched for grates under the mud. cars slowed in confusion where i squatted in the streets; i knew where the drains should be, but couldn't see them.

i'd feel the mud give way all of a sudden, hear a distant splash as it drops down into the standing pool from yesterday's storm. the splash wasn't as distant as i wished; i pried up layers of greasy leaves and strips of plastic, rubber chunks, peeling tar, scraping it all down the holes i slowly made by chipping away at the layers that crusted over the grates.

it only takes a few minutes of dedicated work to clear enough so that daylight shone into the dark water below; what a difference that made. what an action in vain; ten minutes of downpour would sweep a street of trash over the grate again, and water would continue to skip the drain and feed into the river crashing into our neighbors downhill.

this makes me feel better.

24 February 2018 23:32