I ate a can of sardines
by the Gulf of Mexico—
tin peeled back like a tongue.
I felt envious eyes in every hinge of shell
that would not close. My heels
burrowed into the sand
as if I, too, were something
half-willing to be swallowed.
The sea and land spoke
over one another like divorced parents
arguing across a child.
I stood between them
unsure which hunger was mine.
— CHRISTOPHER RICKER
Christopher Ricker is a poet, naturalist, and writer from Staten Island, New York. Christopher is the Director of Programming at Freshkills Park, once the world’s largest landfill has now been restored into what will be New York City’s largest part built in over a century. His work frequently explores deep ecology, memory, and the relationship between landscape and identity.