Summary

In "September Mushrooms," the speaker says she was distracted when the September mushrooms came up. They "nosed up" under a tree without notice, bringing with them a message from beneath the soil (47). She describes the way they look, their shapes, sizes, and colors. She wonders what they hear when listening to the "human world" (47). Perhaps they see danger and send back a warning.

In "Carving the Jacks," the speaker describes the arrival of jack-o'-lanterns each year. People carve them to look like themselves. Supposedly they are harmless replicas of skulls. People want them to protect their houses, to send messages, to ward off death. Two weeks later, the pumpkins will be rotten. Time keeps moving. Once humans are gone, what they have made with knives will survive them (49).

In "A Drone Scans the Wreckage," the speaker assumes the voice of a 15-eyed drone, moving...