GARBAGE
for a King - #2
Reported in two-thousand nineteen a heartbreaking scene soon to be discovered National Geographic, the iconic, uncovered: “Little Pieces Big Problems” The Great Pacific < once prolific > Garbage Patch was not an illusion now plastic profusion in two thousand six a thin oily slick A Scientia Fellow finds an ocean ghetto environmentally unfriendly antithesis of ecological School of Biological would soon discover newborn fish struggling far more than troubling silver schools of distortion an overwhelming misfortune for every fish in the world it exposed the absurd So we studied the growth took a careless oath to protect our seas but created a disease as sunlight, wind and waves made plastics their slaves with nine million tons by two thousand nineteen a colossal dispair not a hope or a prayer to prevent man’s reckless dumping on land they saw firsthand rivers carrying heartbreaking images precious living things impacting every thing from turtles to birds giant mothers of the sea enough with the words it’s about re-spon-si-bi-lity them, you and me we cried justice for their fails wind farms for the whales we needed a Savior nothing could save her from what was to come twenty twenty undone no preventability or fines for man’s do-gooder crimes as hopelessness dawned and homelessness spawned look around your own town “bring the receipts” one point five six billion beats count the face masks on the streets strangling the living with it’s debris to what degree in the sea? check it: fifty seven million pounds of blue gloves to suffer a food chain’s fate sounds more like hate the real villains? now messing with clouds they moved on with the dollars for government scholars newspeak from the streamers worldly preachers and schemers arrogant leaders it’s inconceivable barely visible bits of plastics in us! “Micro” they’re called we should be appalled Is it climate change or am I the mange? What? We are the parasites! we don't understand power grabbers and trolls of this great worn-out land blame it on foolery yeah this could be my eulogy carrying the brokenness out in the open ness of garbage for a King.
The first GARBAGE for a King - I wrote a few years ago - when A.I. algorithms hadn’t taken over, and it was really nice to see some engagement :)
Mixed media collage with a background page torn from my first poetry zine.
Debs, I really like this piece. The way it reads and flows. The way each line unapologetically collides into the next. Encouraging the reader to discover where the piece will go.
But, more important, is the subject matter.
So many people across the world in positions of power, appear content it seems to take the easy option of dump or burn. I've never understood it. If we have the technology to put people into space, develop AI, create medication to heal millions and eradicate common diseases, why on earth can't we sort out what to do with waste!?
(I've just remembered whilst commenting on your brilliant piece, I wrote a poem years ago called 'Plastic Soup' I think I might try and find it to see what I wrote!)
Again, Debs, awesome piece. ☺️
Garbage for a king. Sure fits a lot of broken things right now quite well.