All Good, No WorriesHe’s digging a hole in the backyard with his pop’s shovel
strips of scrap leather wound round as a grip
He is searching for something he’s lostHe thinks of a boy wandering into a meeting
the drowsy stenographer
gospel cartographers
looking to name a village
waiting for supper’s distant call
the digging man is waiting
fixing together the separate episodesHe’s culled from the dirt
He is sweating the utility call
the power is buried somewhere back there
there, he knows where the septic grass grows
the best place to pile the Sycamore limbs
cautious of the current groundhog tunneling
early toothwart and much later cherriesHe thinks of the boy trailing the woods
behind the empty factory building
little ramps to launch a bike like a job
He is gifted a glass of water from familiar hands
His hands blistered like tomatoes, but it is early spring
He has much of the year to figure out what he needs to say
He asks the boy for a hand, who picks up a shovel,“All good no worries”

^{Abstract Region}

Rewilding PieceBuy a plot of land
Let it grow and see what happensMovement I: Disturbance – An event (fire, farming, storm) removes vegetation but leaves soil intact.Movement II: Pioneer stage – Fast-growing grasses, weeds, and herbs colonize, stabilizing soil.Movement III: Intermediate stage – Shrubs and young trees appear, increasing shade and habitat diversity.Movement IV: Climax community – Mature, stable ecosystem dominated by long-lived species returns.On average this piece takes 50 to 200 years to complete

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World Outside is a digital gallery dedicated to exploring the modern psyche of the midwest.