Urban Blight

The railroad tracks pass close to streets
Where residents reside
And from the train, I gazed at views
The windows did provide.

Suburban homes soon segued
Into urban tracks of land
Where population density
Has gained the upper hand.

For every city tree we passed
Had slews of plastic bags
Embedded in its branches
Like a motley mass of flags.

Such a sad display of ugliness,
This scourge of city blight
Really opened up my eyes to
This environmental plight.

I’d gladly pay the nickel tax
To staunch the bag use flow,
But what I wonder is why people
Let the darn things go.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2017


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Date: 3/26/2017 2:15:00 PM
ExcellentOO! We have so many problems, self-inflicted to be sure... Maybe one day we will learn... Good poem!!! Terry
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Date: 3/22/2017 6:20:00 PM
Yes, humans are so ridiculous how they let things go like this. I think this is very descriptive of urban blight. WELL DONE
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Date: 3/20/2017 7:00:00 AM
It is often that people don't value what they don't have to pay for as Jean said. How sad. Our kids here in Hawaii have days that they go out and clean up the highways. I think it is great to instill an appreciation in children for keeping things tidy. When they grow up they don't litter. A sage poem with wonderful rhyme Ilene. 7 ; )
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Date: 3/19/2017 5:37:00 PM
We have had to pay for plastic bags for years and I see England has followed suit. It's when they don't pay they discard.
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Date: 3/18/2017 5:39:00 PM
Powerfully penned Ilene:-) Litter really is a blight on the streets but here we also have terrible issues with rubbish coming in from the sea... as for plastic bags in trees the 'latest' thing seems to be to put ones with doggy poop on tree branches - ugh its so vile:-( hugs Jan xx
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