by Ash Maielle
T I T L E
is erosion a good thing?
I N T R O D U C T I O N & B A C K G R O U N D
● she tumbled into the question.
● after tiny hands filled with recyclables and hope scurried with severity.
○ how we depend on our dependents to deliver us from the destruction we’ve dealt.
M A T E R I A L S
● the hillside. blue block— a solemn home.
● old sour cream canister with carved holes. leaks spring grief.
● green wire—saplings of sorrow.
● the shores. white beads— a buried secret.
● city lights and waves— twin predators.
● aluminum pans: sand and destruction and wonder.
P R O C E D U R E
● she leaves them, clusters of children, to navigate— unadvised.
● she patrols the perimeter.
● the coordinates of the moment:
○ N eeds panic pulsing the public
○ W here society’s salt of ignorance kisses the sea.
● it’s not lost on her. she, the only adult in the space, creates the catastrophes.
● pose the question: is erosion a good thing?
R E S U L T S
● most offer obedience. a decline of predictability.
● eagerness is a gleam in sapphire eyes—a hand rocketing into the air. clues that gears have indeed been turning.
● erosion could be good.
● peers turn in protest. mouths agape. a chorus of buts— descend upon the dissident.
● picture a factory that makes pollution. picture it at the bottom of a mountain. picture a landslide that crushes it. picture erosion stopping pollution production.
● a chorus of buts– the factory workers!
● discussion topics that jumped like electrons:
○ why do factories cause pollution? → recycling can stop pollution right? → i recycled my snack container today → i turned off the light before leaving the room → each time i walk to school does that help global warming? → can a tiny step of man make a giant leap of progress? → what is the best thing we can do to help the environment?
A N A L Y S I S
● every action has a reaction consequence.
● a positive tip in the scale deserves recognition. she wishes it were that easy.
● how do you explain to seven and eight year olds— that some people exist solely to pad their pockets with our planet’s pain?
○ and your only response is placing another expectation on their shoulders:
○ vote for people who pass laws to protect the environment
○ become the people who make positive change
● the innocent— an instrument for change
C O N C L U S I O N
● hope is her tether to this earth. this earth she wants to endure.
● curiosity is a mudpie.
○ a mixture of familiar minerals.
○ creative compounds.
○ unidentified clay.
● and us— all sculptors by survival.
Ash Maielle is a queer poet, artist, and educator. When not writing or teaching, you can find her at your local thrift store, walking her huskies, or designing her next themed board game night. Her work can be found in fifth wheel press anthology, brainrot.
January House Literary Journal 
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