Dinners And Losers
- An environmental poem
This was my attempt at an environmental poem for the poetry competition at the
environmental rock day at the Hobbit (www.environmental-rock.co.uk).
It was a good opportunity to get some feelings out, oh and I
think the mention of Twyford Down may have won a few points!
This is the longest poem I've read at the Hobbit.
The all-pervasive burger joints fill the high street to capacity.
Selling one part meat, and two parts plastic.
Stuffed full of gherkins, that the people think fantastic.
Can't they see the corporate sense of taste lobotomy?
Too many people, and too much waste.
Too much pressure, and too much haste.
Too many late nights, and TV dinners.
Too many losers, and not enough winners.
The consumer is king, the shelves are full of frozen prawns.
Aisle upon aisle with their packaged goods
And books to show us what once grew in woods.
Oh and strange little ornaments to clutter up our lawns.
So many light bulbs, in indulgent little shops.
So much heating, going up through the rooftops.
So much electricity, feeding each appliance.
So many gadgets, on which we build reliance.
We farm the sea for all we're worth, from a shrimp boat to a whaler.
Circling seagulls find rich pickings in their wake.
Catch beyond their quota, the fishermen can't take.
The stocks may well diminish, not the profit for the processor.
Too many middlemen, and not enough growers.
Too many reapers, and not enough sowers.
Too much greed, deprives those with most need.
Too much new seed, for a spray-resistant breed.
Once mighty forests are succumbing to illegal logging.
The paperless office was technology's dream,
But we still feed our printers, ream after ream.
We're inundated with leaflets for windows they're flogging.
So much technology discarded in a phone.
So many leaflets, sent to advertise a loan.
So much rubbish, we incinerate in haste.
So many chemicals to simulate a taste.
We need to take big steps, and aim towards sustainability.
But to reach this end we need to make a start
And for us that might just be the hardest part.
Yet carry on as we are, and climate change is a certainty.
Too many journeys, as the shops are out of town.
Too much traffic, passing over Twyford down.
Too much reliance on our precious planet's oil.
Too much exploitation, of our planet's soil.
Yes, there's too much of everything.
And that includes the people.
Category: "Comment", Star-Rating: **
Written by Keith Lambell, March 15th 2003
Poem viewed 113 times since March 2002.