Eco-warriors

by Alicia Hilton

Eco-warriors march to Central Park.
Old and young, armed with shovels,
rakes, worn gloves, and determination.

A grandmother’s arthritic hands grasp extraterrestrial ivy.
Gnarled knuckles tug and yank, battling
the invasive vine clinging to an old oak’s trunk.

Sweat beads her forehead, shoulders strain.
Each aerial root that tugs free, a victory.
She bares bark, creating a ring around the trunk.

An emerald-faced insectomorph stings her forearm.
She screams, tightens her grip on the vine.
A ruby rivulet drips down wrinkled skin.

Another extraterrestrial hornet buzzes closer, seeking
to suckle the eco-warrior’s blood.

A teenage boy from the Bronx jumps into the fray.
He swings a shovel, whacks insectomorphs, chops the vine.

The old oak tree sighs in relief,
finally able to breathe.

Alicia Hilton is an author, editor, arbitrator, professor, and former FBI Special Agent. Her work has appeared in Breakwater Review, Creepy Podcast, Dreams & Nightmares, Eastern Iowa Review, Litro, Modern Haiku, Mslexia, Neon, NonBinary Review, Not One of Us, Vastarien, World Haiku Review, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volumes 4, 5 & 6, and elsewhere. Her website is https://aliciahilton.com. Follow her on Twitter @aliciahilton01 and Bluesky @aliciahilton.bsky.social.