Excellent essay by Tommy Pico. Very much enjoyed the authors perspective and narration. I’m leaving this essay with a lot of thoughts, and at some point I’d like to revisit this essay after some reflection. 

“I don't hate nature at all. Places have thoughts — hills have backs that love being stroked by our eyes. The river gobbles down its tract as a metaphor but also abt its day.”

“I feel dry as California 

where I somehow managed to thrive in a climate of drought for thousands of years w/o draining the state, yet somehow we were primitive?”

“What if I really do feel connected to the land?

What if the mountains around the valley where I was born 

What if I see them like faces when I close my eyes 

What if I said hi to them in the mornings and now all their calls go to voicemail”