Plastic + Addicts

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.