The idling bus
Several years ago I encountered a bus,
idling away as it waited to pick up passengers
at a community center in suburban Chicago.
I walked past the bus and observed
its large exhaust pipe spewing
a stream of noxious fumes into the air.
I wondered why the bus was left running,
since there was nobody on board,
nor was there anyone else in sight.
As the engine kept on running,
combustive processes continued
spitting more toxic results into the air.
One needlessly idling bus alone
won’t condemn our planet to 120 degree temperatures,
but still we can examine our own wasteful practices.
For if we want to continue living here,
we must.
Written for Earth Day 2022.
