Under the Turbines
Infants and toddlers cannot speak
and even pre-teens
may not have the vocabulary to describe
the unprecedented symptoms they suffer
Teenagers can tell you more—
they are developing a lexicon for suffering
They are beginning to see that life is unfair
and full of strife
and even if they sometimes feel invulnerable
they watch their parents and know deep inside that
invulnerability is a lie
They watch the landscape change around them
see the five-hundred foot turbines erected
The sound of the gears up there are not like the sound
of their childhoods swings
which creak in the wind at night
a comforting sound
Now they hear the tangible sound of the wealthy
stealing from them
before they have even begun to acquire anything
More Symptoms from Living in a “Wind Farm”
Sleep disturbance in children and infants is common
Your child may feel bullied
even if no classmate is bullying him
He has just begun to get over the idea that there is a monster
under his bed
and now he awakens feeling that there is an intruder in the house
an intruder with more powerful weapons than Father’s guns
and a feeling that Father is powerless
against the greater forces in the world
Of course, it’s true
Father and his neighbors tried to stop the turbines
He pointed out that the Comprehensive Plan
forbade them
Father is powerless
Grit
I watch my sleeping daughter grit her teeth
When she was three she had bad earaches
and took so many antibiotics
the doctor forbade us to give her milk
because milk is full of antibiotics
and we can’t afford Organic
Now she has ear aches again
This time the doctor says there is no treatment
other than moving out of the “wind farm”
It’s the pressure he says
and because of her history she is particularly
vulnerable
We all involuntarily explore our vulnerabilities now
Anxiety, nervousness—
I’ve learned there’s a difference between the two
but when I startle awake with an elevated heart rate
I’m not sure which is which
Nausea
I’ve always eaten like a horse and never felt nauseous in my life
Now I feel nauseous all the time
I can’t figure out how the wind turbines cause nausea
though I’ve been told it’s an inner ear thing
I guess it’s something my daughter and I
have in common
My neighbor, the professor
now stands in front of the chalkboard
gripping the edges of the podium
staring at his notes
He’s got vertigo
and can’t perambulate around his classroom
speaking extemporaneously
like he used to
I never much liked that guy
kind of an egghead
who moved here from some city
for the peace and quiet
That’s a laugh, ain’t it, Professor?
Now I feel more brotherly toward him
We stood up in public hearings
and our arguments, our pleas
were equally ignored by the corrupt commissioners
him with his PhD
me with my high school diploma
I think I was right not to go on to college
though my mother told me
I was smart enough
(Photo Credit: Steve Sutherland)
