What man creates is truly ingenious.
Tough and untouched by corruption
it’s everywhere, just like the air we breathe.
Agile and thin it travels at a speed
and eludes the cunning enemy;
a futurist whose foresight raises scorn.
But an obituary? The thing won’t die!
So, I pack my jaded hope and bid it farewell
as it makes its way to invade happiness
and idyllic life in the land of my father.
note: Today is World Environment Day, and this is in response to the Midweek Motif, Plastic Bags, at Poets United.
I pack my jaded hope and bid it farewell….so we pack our plastic and we pack our hope that there will be a tomorrow…bkm
I totally love this poem! Such a fabulous characterization of the genius invention of the plastic bag: “Tough and untouched by corruption.” Ubiquitous, “like air.” Heaven help us.
Yes…ubiquitous and lethal for our planet.
I wish we didn’t resort to packing up hope but continue to convince others (who don’t recycle) the rewards and repercussions. But how to dispose of waste, especially in some developing countries remains a big challenge.
Thanks Susan. And heaven help us, indeed!
Yep, the omnipresent for the unconverted to witness.
Beautifully worded. As much as I don’t like government controlling certain things, I feel like this change may need to come from enacted laws like we have seen in some places. Where I live now has no such laws, so disposable plastic is everywhere.
Thank you, Val. I hear you, and perhaps enacted laws are needed. I just wish recycling was a learned behaviour, just like learning to say “thank you” or “please” without the need to punish people, who sometimes are not even aware that they are offenders due to lack of information about the repercussions. Of course, I’m thinking about people in the rural, in my own country.
If only the beautifully acid tone here were enough to disolve the plastic menace we’d be home free!
The blight of plastic carrier bags, reaches far beyond the life of a supermarket visit!!
There has never been a mammal so blind as man that strives to destroy the world but can’t see it happening. Curiously I think he is solving the problem himself by doing this for it to remerge without him!
I especially love your closing lines.
I love how you pack your jaded hope and bid it farewell. Clever writing but sad and yes it does invade happiness more than we can imagen
“So, I pack my jaded hope and bid it farewell”…We have come to this, really. It’s too late now. You’ve uttered some unpalatable truths. Sigh.
We can only hope that words, words and more words can make enough noise for all to pause and think before buying the plastic bag.
Totally agree, man has managed to build a legacy!
Thank you, Sherry!
I appreciate you reading, Marja!
Yep, the plastic bag is immortal!
Khaya, nice write. Humans can be clever, but also stupid. Creating destructive things that won’t die, like plastic, and radioactive waste STUPID!
Love the poem, particularly the ending.
Thank you, Sara!
Hi Rob! It’s true, humans can be a bit (or lot) of both; clever and stupid. Thank you for your visit, and reading. Much appreciated!
Very good poem. People should take care of the earth. Out of curiosity, have you ever heard of the documentary called Trashed?
I’ve heard that Trashed is an important call to action but haven’t watched it yet. I should soon. Thank you for bringing it up.
It was a good documentary. I feel like a lot of environmental films could be too preachy or flawed, but this doc took a great approach in showing the ramifications of garbage on animals and humans. Yes, it is weird watching it knowing that Jeremy Irons is prominently featured (saying nothing about him being the voice of the only Disney villain to copy an anime antagonist), but I gained respect for him when he did some environmentalist work while being genuine. No problem, Khaya.