It was my third year in the position, and there
were some things I despised, some things I
yearned for, but all things I endured. My job
consisted mainly of selectively extracting
the dead flower petals from the post-midnight
street detritus and compacting them into a fine-
smelling soot using only the tips of my index
and thumb. I had an inkling it was all bullshit,
the sort of extraneous task assigned when what
exactly to do with a willing body is not known,
but now and again I saw a glimmer of appreciation
from the observers, and so I continued my diligent work.
Eventually, two things put me in the opinion that I
should abandon this labor. For one, the faces of the
people producing the dead flower petals had
begun to show. I found myself equal parts familiar
with and repulsed by these faces, though it
was really their earnest planting of lifeless stems
and the equally frantic uprooting and scattering as they
realized that the flowers would not flourish
that did me in. Additionally, I did come across a rather
forward advertisement demanding an immediate
rebellion of the street cleaners. Under the compulsion
of my post, I ripped it down but impulsively
placed it in my pocket. Initially, I was pleased
by how able I was to take the battered paper
in stride, continuing along my route without
much interest in its message. But that night
I crushed the petals inadequately, producing
perhaps the foulest stuff I’d ever turned in
to my supervisor. Under the influence of these
happenstances a gentle yet incessant rumbling
was born within me, which when I was left
alone escaped my body in impatient
snarls that obfuscated all else. This new rumbling
hindered my street cleaning abilities considerably,
and my investment in how pleasant the streets
smelled plummeted in kind. In response to
these changes, the same faces,
now blatant in their appraisal of me, did adopt
a most knowing and judgmental pall, though
they did not stop their planting and scattering.
It was at this point that I put in my two weeks’
notice and also when a windfall of money
to the city resulted in the deployment
of automated industrial compacters, whereby my post
was terminated and my notice deemed void.