plastic world for Chinaski

I see kids hanging around in a circle

bent over watching a pile of plastic

melt and burn but not disappear - "oh,

how they will learn."

That plastic things don't give-in so easily

and how if your not careful that gooey

sticky substance takes hold and hardens

as the fumes ooze into their brains.

Into greed and fake dreams; of wealth

and lies; into credit cards and posts

invented to obtain items they can't afford

false promises over time with interest - who's?

If you don't have cash in hand...forget-it!

I can taste the future letdown in my mouth

like wine or beer served in a plastic bottle or cup;

"give me that drink in a frosted glass!" - candor.

That plastic knife that snaps in two in your hand

when spreading..mustard on bologna, or in your back

that doesn't penetrate but still puts a gait in your step;

keeping that memory alive - "who do you trust?"

Those plastic shoes I've walked in - caught in a plastic

disease of falsehoods, industrial lies and material things.

I walk over to the circle and stick my head in and watch

another match drop onto the burning pile.

As it folds, bends into an eerie smelling piece of rock,

one of the kids pours a stream of Coca-Cola onto the lump

to see what happens to it - "hey kid, it's going to take more

than a douse of soda to avoid your future in plastic."

well hopefully I did my part..

"now, where's that package store?"