Analysis of Plastic + Addicts

Loretta Sunshine 1990 (North Carolina)



Deadly, I choke
the life out of

every creature. Mistaking me
for vittles, for some form of nourishment,

to their fluid bodies, under the oil-slicked
sheen of the watery surface.

dumped, just like
that homeless guy

into the murky tide. I
abide by no law.

you care not for his life, or for any
that’s not your own. Just as you do,

I take all, and give nothing
in return. Oh, the irony!

that I was once your
straw. You know, the one

used just once, then dumped
without a blind thought into a can meant

to hold all the trash you once treasured
but no longer want.

plastic or heroine - the outcome is
always the same. I abide by no law.

you turn a blind eye to both, until their sorrow
burdens your way of life.

for decades, centuries, I pollute the earth.
and you - you’ve created, you’re still creating,

me - by the billions.
and for what?

so you could have just a quick fix
of liquid joy?

a singular use, that a recyclable bag,
left growing dust on your pantry floor

could fix. I spread through the ocean, much like
a disease. Silently

I am the cancer of the sea,
and the cancer on the streets,

taking all life, until you
care, and put an end to me.


Scheme XX AX XX BC CD AE FA GX XX XX XD XX XF XX XX XG BA AX EA
Poetic Form
Metre 1011 0111 100100101 1101111100 11101010011 11010010 111 1101 0101011 01111 1111111110 11111111 1110110 00110100 11111 11101 11111 0101101011 111011110 11101 101100011 101101111 110111101110 101111 10110010101 01101011010 11010 011 11111011 1101 010011001001 110111101 1111101011 001100 11010101 0010101 1011011 1011111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,174
Words 260
Sentences 19
Stanzas 19
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
Lines Amount 38
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 46
Words per stanza (avg) 12

About this poem

This ecopoem is meant to bring to light the grim realities we face due to global crises that come equally from plastics and drugs.

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Submitted by lorettasunshineimages on November 30, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:18 min read
1

Loretta Sunshine

Loretta Sunshine is an American poet and photographer whose work is dark, moody, emotional and deeply-felt. more…

All Loretta Sunshine poems | Loretta Sunshine Books

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