ENVIRONMENTAL Poem: From a Florida Constituent, by Sienna Alpert

I remember visiting the Everglades when I was six
And knowing it was special
I remember taking a course on Florida wildlife
And knowing there was nothing quite like it
I don’t like Florida, but I miss it, I miss what it used to be

My mom would take me to see what was left of Old Florida
Teaching me about our natives
People and plants
Making sure I knew which were invasive,
Retelling stories of when she was my age
Seeing alligators and manatees
While we sat in the fields of my papa’s nursery
Riding on the dirt road back home

Now, almost two decades later
It’s hard for me to call Florida my home
When its officials are killing it
My land is not a prison,
But they’re making it one

One way in
One way out

When I go to the beach
There are 3-story-mansions built on top of
Sand dunes, a king on his throne in Mar-a-Lago
Guarded by school buses
Afraid of being shot, but not by cops

They sit behind their guarded gate, guns in hand
Glad to know the violent people are gone
Tucked away in the wetlands
In a building that will drown them
Come the first hurricane of the season