Global Dysmorphia

We’ve tied a corset ‘round Earth’s stomach & like an overbearing mother, pulled the strings taut as occupied swing sets Plastic clogs the salt-water arteries & there isn’t a baby aspirin strong enough to fight off the inevitable stroke The atrophy is ubiquitous catching glimpses of it everywhere, like unrequited love on busy downtown sidewalks visions in the park: abandoned sippy cups & single use wet naps visions at the beach: kids dig up buried beer cans like a dystopian Jim Hawkins visions of my body: lungs once pink as vernal blossoms, soot-stained and straining The wheel of Time turns; There’s toxic sand in the sieve & the hourglass flips for the last time