Wild, protected sea kale, enjoying the summer sun in Dungeness

A shorter version of this essay was sent out on a Binders email and appears on Bindersink.

I’m writing from a coastal town in southeast England, wheresea kalethe size of Easter baskets proliferates along the rocky shoreline, and thestinging nettlesand blackberries flourish along the hedges. The sea kale is protected here, so I leave it alone, but it doesn’t stop me from coveting it out of the corners of my eyes and desiring to serve...