All entries for Thursday 10 February 2011

Recycling

Recycling

Eat your dinner silently as

you stare at each other without seeing 

what you saw in each other. 

scrape your leftovers into the red bin

Oh shit you’re supposed to put food in the blue bin!

Now she’s gonna be mad. Maybe if you

get that kitchen towel and scrape it 

from one bin to the other? 

too late she’s in the room she’s seen 

what you’ve done and she’s

screaming again but she’s not

screaming with anger she’s just 

screaming because you’ve both forgotten how you 

used 

to be able to talk to each other softly after making love, 

lying in your cramped single bed with the

light’s on after shagging each other with your clothes on. 

You take out the green bin. The green bin is safe. 

can’t go wrong with a bit of recycling

eco-friendly dave, that’s you, conscientious you

care about whales and lions and even krill cos 

even though it’s not documented, krill have a rough time of it too. 

Out in the yard outside the front of the house you 

knew was just a temporary thing before you 

got your big break

then came matrimony and lying and fucking your secretary soon became 

making love to your secretary 

and soon you were standing under moonlight in Paris

and the moon was dripping down your back

and Mary was crying after the meal

and you didn’t put your arm around her. 

Glass bottles for bottling your liquid aggression 

and cans full of corporate thought

you look over at the neighbours bins and their

recycling bin is empty, 

why is it empty? are they on holiday?

Their audiis are outside, both of them, one green and one red.

You look to your left and your right and there’s

no one in sight so you leap as a fox

an urban fox in the dark

over their stone wall barrier

and you open their black garbage bin

and tear open the bin liner and out spills

cardboard

aluminum

glass

aluminum

glass

cardboard

glass

aluminum

cardboard

Arseholes fucking arseholes man they’re killing the world their killing the environment

fuck them fuck them fuck them fuck them

Don’t they know there are starving children in Ethiopia?

This is the end of the line

you’re tired of letting people slide into this middle class individualism

selfish selfish selfish selfish

Let them eat fire

let them eat petrol

let them drink their fill of smoke

who knew that rags and fuel could fuel a vendetta against the riches

the fire crackles behind the glass

glorious recyclable glass

do they know their house is on fire? 

let them sleep in the fire

let them warm their hearts

oh shit man there was a dog inside and the dog

man it’s going fucking mental it won’t stop barking

it won’t stop barking

it won’t stop barking

head back inside to the cupboard by the stairs

take the extinguisher out. She

watches you but she doesn’t say anything she just

watches you leave with the red extinguisher

you’ve never used one before so she’s going to

watch you struggle

watch as you try to stop the flames

fuck man this is a carbon dioxide extinguisher! 

you’re fueling global warming you idiot

but the dog won’t stop barking

maybe you can get to the shops and buy a new water extinguisher?

shops probably sell extinguishers. 

now their’s this

screaming. Is it her? Is it one of the neighbours? This

screaming is getting closer and louder and it’s filling your brain with

screaming man it won’t go away. 

and there are blue lights in your eyes and the red of the fire 

is melting into your retinas 

blue, red and green...

...and the grey of the police cell.

Will Mary remember to sort out the recycling? 

Samuel Dodson : 10 Feb 2011 16:16 |  Tags: Environmental Poem Poetry |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem