Pompton Lakes

How am I to know if I am sick?
My heart beats quickly
at the thought
of how they strictly
said we ought  not
to swim in lakes or rivers when I was five.

A comedy of errors, so to speak; rather,
a leak in the disposal
of a sediment they owned
containing mercury.

The traces in the rocks
we somewhat mocked.
When we took stock and told the story,
we chalked it up to silly worry—
nothing more.
Now that we know the score,
my hometown sued for reparations
for the traces in foundations
and the cleanup’s still not done.
Nobody won.

We lost
the river from our park
and the lake from common use.
We lost
no lives– thank higher powers– but that’s still not an excuse.
I’m not sick.
But to be strict, I’m lucky I’m alive.
And when I was five?
How was I to know?