A while ago I was on a class assignment to find hell on earth. I didn’t have anything specific in mind as I walked along the 6th street Bridge. I hoped I would think of something, as I looked wish fresh eyes along the bridge.
A storm had recently passed over the city so I was happy to take advantage of the bright blue sky as a backdrop. I walked along on the right side of the bridge facing east. As I reached the middle I noticed two clumps underneath the first arch. It didn’t take long to realize these were dead baby birds that were blown away from their nest that was built inside the arch.
While I was kneeling on the floor, a foul stench reached my nostrils. I took a few steps forward and saw a strange pile of dirt. It actually looked like topsoil. Once again, it didn’t take long to realize this wasn’t a pile of dirt; rather it was a pile of fragmented human waste.
I had seen literal piles of shit along the 4th street Bridge, which naturally grossed me out and surprised me. Call me naïve but I thought if people are going to shit near a bridge it would be underneath it, not on it.
I could only hold my breath for so long before I took a step away from the pile and ended up underneath the second arch. In one of the inner spaces I noticed someone had stored some garments and a book. I’ve seen the homeless use these gaps as public storage before but the sight of the book fell heavy on my heart. I didn’t open the book. It didn’t occur to me until I got home. Even though this was stored in a public space, I felt I would’ve been intruding on this person’s property. Maybe this person defecated near his things to keep people away.
I returned home completely humbled. I’m not sure what made this inanimate encounter different. I’m not sure why the evidence of homelessness affected me more than usual.
This began as another mere walk on the same ‘ole bridge and I came away with yet another perspective of it. That certainly was a glimpse of hell on earth.
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