Save
the world
Save the world from that big
mouthed piece of plastic bag
swallowing your shopping.
Thrown away and abandoned
it swirls and swims to the sea
It consoles itself hugging
birds and turtles to death
Bags connect to the other
deserted ones who gather
like gigantic gangs covering
the ocean for millions of km's
Islands of daunting destruction
Islands inhibited by tribes
of polyester rags
plastic bottles and bags
straws and sticks
packaging wracking
the entire world
This plastic is tough and
roughly survives and thrives
for a hundred till a thousand
of years before they break
down and be swallowed by fish
So when eating this dish
you reunite with a bag and be
filled with their dread of emptiness
filled with their everlasting existence
So why do we accept?
Does our temptation for short-term
mouthed piece of plastic bag
swallowing your shopping.
Thrown away and abandoned
it swirls and swims to the sea
It consoles itself hugging
birds and turtles to death
Bags connect to the other
deserted ones who gather
like gigantic gangs covering
the ocean for millions of km's
Islands of daunting destruction
Islands inhibited by tribes
of polyester rags
plastic bottles and bags
straws and sticks
packaging wracking
the entire world
This plastic is tough and
roughly survives and thrives
for a hundred till a thousand
of years before they break
down and be swallowed by fish
So when eating this dish
you reunite with a bag and be
filled with their dread of emptiness
filled with their everlasting existence
So why do we accept?
Does our temptation for short-term
convenience seems stronger than
loss through long term devastation?
loss through long term devastation?
Or are we teaming up to
Ban the bag, ban plastic,
Plan to Reject Reuse or Recycle
to save the world, to save us
Are you part of the solution?
If you are interested in this subject visit this post of a blogging friend who just wrote a post about
The plastics you don't see
Ban the bag, ban plastic,
Plan to Reject Reuse or Recycle
to save the world, to save us
Are you part of the solution?
If you are interested in this subject visit this post of a blogging friend who just wrote a post about
The plastics you don't see
ReplyDeleteVery powerful poem! Well-written and with a clear message!
However, Marja, as much as I'm with you on this, I have to tell you: we can't go back. Plastic is part of our reality and we have to find a way to live with it without damaging the world. It's just as people won't give up their petrol consumming cars. I believe science can find a way to make that plastic more compatible with the world's needs.
What science cannot do is change the climate. that's God's domain. Banning plastics, I'm afraid, won't change the climate anomality of the last decades.
Here in NZ we already have supermarkets were you have to bring your container to handover to put in meat e.o. Than we have the bin-ins Supermarkets were you scoop things into paper bags. Banning plastic has nothing to do with science it is changing a way of living which will otherwise kill the planet and ultimately us. Science doesn't change the climate no but it can research why and how the earth is polluted and how. We were meant to live in nature not in rubbish and pollution. It is us who destroy mother earth It is us who have to change to prevent further harm for our children. Have you looked at the video?
DeleteWe've also got these new rules at the supermarkets. And that's good. I'm for everything that can help clean the planet, and prevent pollution. Indeed, as you say, we're meant to live in nature not in rubbish.
DeleteI'm not, however, for misleading people to believe that geting rid of the plastics is getting rid of bad climate. No way! And it's the bad climate that is going to kill us.
It's a bit like when you're told: go to the gym and you'll get rid of the surplus pounds. No! going to the gym is very good for our health in general, but to shed some pounds you need an adequate diet. With a good diet you may sit on the coach and shed your pounds.
Yes you are right That wouldn't be enough and yes the bad climate is going to kill us but we can stop it from getting worse by reducing fossil fuels, deforestation and intensive agriculture.
Delete
ReplyDeleteYour personification of plastic bags is splendid. You've even given them psychology--abandoned children, they gang up and terrorize! What big mouths! Could the Western world have given them a more accommodating personality along with a way to die? Excellent.
Sadly we think we are more clever and inventive now but the reverse is true. We find solutions where there are no problems ; discard the use of paper bags which are acceptable and recyclable and choose a dangerous killer plastic instead to haunt our children's future and doom for the planet.
ReplyDeleteYour words speak truth … we’ve come full circle and now it is in the very food we eat. I don’t think a lot of people yet realize the magnitude of the problem. Plastic was such a great idea at first, so durable … but like so much of what is human made it grew to excess.
ReplyDeleteyes why do we accept this...it is so sad and so easy to say - its just one bag, one bottle,,just one..after another and another...bkm
ReplyDeleteyes why do accept it is in everything - it is everywhere and has become impossible to live without it somewhere...we shall pay a great price...bkm
ReplyDeleteSo well depicted and true; plastic bags do connect and form gangs. I guess we accept convenience, and choose to forget long-term effects.
ReplyDeleteMarja,
ReplyDeleteA most comprehensive poem, which captures the dreadful plague upon the world caused by plastics in all forms.
A wake up call is now sounding, but too late for the oceans..
Excellent response to the subject!
Our planet is suffering – how long before we completely destroy it? Last year, my late husband, before he went to an assisted living, would still take little walks with the hospice volunteer who had to carry a large paper sac for all the garbage my husband would pick up from the sidewalks – he could no longer talk or do much, but he still knew that littering is wrong. It is hard for me to understand why people don’t care about our environment, and don't care about the harm we do to wildlife. You wrote a beautiful but so sad poem.
ReplyDeleteWell out, Marja, and your friend's article is very informative too. Even our clothing when we wash it, sheds small particles of plastic that wind up in the ocean. Here on the west coast of canada 140 dead whales have washed up on our beaches, starved, stomachs full of plastic. Their babies are dying. We have beach cleaners here and have banned plastic bags and straws....but there is still a planet full of plastic refuse. I like people who turn it into other things, like roads.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of people all over the world who do try to be a part of the solutions. But they are helpless against big corporations and money power. So sad.
ReplyDeleteSuch powerful words Marja. Ones we should all be listening to. Plastic bags are no longer given free here in the UK with shopping. People now have got into the habit of using reusable bags.
ReplyDeleteThough plastic bags still can be bought for 5p each. Monies hi to charities of stores choice.
But there is far, far too much Plastic in circulation. Much of it not needed in packaging.
We humans should be ashamed of the pollution we create.
Thank you for your amazing poem and video to remind us of all our responsibilities.
Sending much love your way my friend. 💖😘
Powerful poem, Marja. I like the way the bags are depicted as gang members, out to destroy.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and poem.
ReplyDeleteOur species has no choice but to eventually address the waste we generate. It's just a question of whether it will happen sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, thanks for the shout out about my post!
ReplyDeleteYes
ReplyDelete