Ethereal Changing
the Ephemeral
Janet Kuypers
5/11/25
The ethereal and the ephemeral.
How the things we cannot see
Change things in the world
That are meant to change.
—
Spanning a bridge over water
At an ecological center— our
Walk a quarter century ago
Would have been over desert.
Mankind moved waterways,
Destroying fish & birds for
100 years — but after seeing
Their error, they fixed it.
They fixed a hundred-year-old
Problem in a quarter of that time.
I think back to the 70s, where
Repairmen dumped refrigerant
Freon — because they could.
It was only a decade later they
Noticed a literal hole in the
Ozone, and the world decided
To do something about it. Lo &
Behold, we actually corrected
Damage we were doing. So,
When I visit an island where
Recycling doesn’t seem to exist,
I stop questioning the strangeness
Of stopping waitstaff from throwing
Away plastic and glass, asking
If I could please take these things
To recycle myself. They find me a
Plastic bag (that I can recycle later)
That I then explain to other waitstaff,
“No, I’m not binging in products from
Outside, I’m recycling this from here.”
I’ve given up on worrying about how
Strange this may seem, for these
Actions may take a decade, may
Take a quarter century, maybe even
Longer. But don’t keep thinking it’s
Nothing. It’s making a difference.
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