What did they believe in down there, in those other towns that were so different from our own? What did they do over there?
Everything, nothing.
They took pride in things others took for granted, took for granted what others took pride in. Kindness came as easily as cruelty. Love as often as indifference. They fished and farmed.They bought and sold. Gifted and gave, stole and hid. Some sang songs so beautiful they could make a stranger cry, some told stories so crass and vulgar you were ashamed to ever hear them, couldn’t bring yourself to look the teller in the eye.
They lived, they died.
That’s what they believe in down there, in those other towns that are so different from our own. That’s what they do over there.
__________
Notes:
1. Written in May 2023
__________