Abby's Alley

That question is like a land-lover asking a swimmer, “Is jumping into this pool worth it?”  The swimmer would reply, “What do you mean, is it worth it? You mean is the frightening part of getting wet and not knowing what you’re doing, worth leaving the safety of the shore? How else are you going to learn to swim? Do you want to be a swimmer or not?” If the non-swimmer replies, “Yes, I want to be a swimmer, but I really like building sand castles and shopping for fancy clothes, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to do that when I’m in the water. Plus, swimsuit are so unflattering on my body and getting wet is a royal pain.” Then I would reply, “Go back to your late night movies and artsy projects and social circles and glamorous styles. You don’t want to be a parent. Stick to the dry land.” And yet if I could lure you off the diving board with images of olympic swimmers, if I could get you to forget your fear of water by showing you the joys of sailing or surfing or body bo

AVOCADO TREE by Abigail Stevens The backyard buzzes from the bees. At such a sound I’m wary, though they’re at work overhead each year in February. A musty smell floats in the air from fuerte avocados. Its blooms are small but numerous drawing the bee to come close. Beneath the haze of blooming flowers, old leaves crinkle and brown. When new leaves appear around the blooms, old ones fall to the ground.  NOPALES By Abigail Stevens Abuelita serves Nopales. They’re goey and slimy and green.  My friends think it madness that I would eat cactus. But they don’t know they were cleaned.

Down the Drain ( Sung to the tune "Oh Me, Oh My!" by  Raffi) by Abigail Stevens Dear me! Oh no! What will I do? I just flushed my favorite sock down the toilet.  But I found out, and so will you, A clogged toilet bowl will make the parents upset. Maybe, perchance the sock gets through, I’ll tell you ‘bout its journey to the treatment plant. Now don’t worry, I’ll sidestep poo. From here until the end, we’ll call it influent. Down, down through pipes the sewage goes Pulled along by gravity and water’s flow. There’s lots of muck to decompose At the treatment plant where bacteria grow. Into the plant goes the influent Where rakes and screens remove all large objects. This begins the first treatment En route to cleansing influent in all respects. Onward from there to the settling tank. Solids sink while oils float up to the top. You can bet the smell is rank. So some tanks are closed with a cover atop. Second