By John Villan
People disgust me. This is tallgrass prairie country, right? Practically the Great Plains.
So the grass grows, you guessed it—tall. Beautiful, environmentally friendly, tall grass.
Man, my yard. Just about perfect. Dandelions, wild strawberry, wild carrot. Sassafras saplings, clover, plantain. Delicious.
My girlfriend just moved in, did I mention? Dug a whole extra corridor in the burrow for her stuff.
Woman comes along this morning. Massive. Riding this gas-guzzling, roaring orange thing. Chews everything down into cropped green and dust.
Big smile on her face when it’s done.
I think we’re going to have to find a new place now.
Hello John,
Great environmental impact flash-fiction with contending points of view. I might have caught gist earlier regarding the identity of the narrator if the word “humans” had been substituted for the word “people”.
Nicely done.
I thought the same re “people” vs “humans.” I like the choice to make it a bit more oblique and more of a revelation at the end.
Clever… kudos …
I really enjoyed this. At first, I thought it would be a story about an aggressive HOA. Liked the bit about the girlfriend moving in as well.
Nature finds limitless ways to craft beauty but man finds a way to perceive beauty within a limited sphere. Nice, it conveys deep thought.
Surprised me. Everything is not about us.
Clever…enjoyed reading this
So well put – the utter incomprehension of most humans regarding the environment.
Very clever and well-written. Loved the line “Dandelions, wild strawberry, wild carrot. Sassafras saplings, clover, plantain. Delicious.” Why do we feel we have to mow down this natural beauty?
Love this. You can say a lot in 101 words and, in this case, make a very compelling point. Well done!