Rust and Residue

Dirt clings to fingernails as they scrape against a rusted trowel, pulling the pitted metal from the damp, black earth. This jagged fragment rests in the palm like an accidental fossil, its handle scarred by decades of slow oxidation and forgotten use. Each layer of grit uncovers more than just oxidized iron; it reveals how intentions dissolve into the soil through years of neglect. The tool remains as a quiet witness to the friction between what was once planted and what was eventually left behind.