There was a time
When my faith was unshakeable
The Lord proved
That I was remakeable
His love for me
Was simply not mistakeable
The Holy Spirit’s strength
Was totally unbreakable
For forsaking me
He was incapable
His call on my life
Was just so inescapable
But I went rogue
And became insatiable
I thought His love
Would just be replaceable
In the world I could hide
And then become untraceable
Write my own ticket
My desires now obtainable
But such a life
Is so unsustainable
Bent and broken
I’m biodegradable
I’ll never get home
The chasm unscalable
Would He take me back
That seemed so debatable
My life got so twisted
My actions so hateable
I didn’t deserve it
My soul was unrateable
Consumed with despair
My steps were retraceable
At His gate I cried
My debt is unpayable
He opened the gates
How is this explainable
You are my son
That is not erasable
Such love as this
Simply unrestrainable
oh generation of garbage collectors
toss it out ...buy more
he shoots ... he scores
paper plates ... plastic faced
paper hearts ... what a waste
disposable lives ... biodegradable promises
His incendiary comments
Ignited a conflagration
Concerning the dangers
Of “smokeless” tobacco
It’s the same look
Like the one the dogs get
When they hear the leash rattle
The eyes focus and scan
The attitude
Takes on an urgency.
That tree awaits.
Who might have been there
Who may still linger
Did we bring the ball
I hate it when he forgets
As I am not too fond of
Other dog’s saliva-soaked offerings.
“Biodegradable” poop bags
Holy Scat, what next
What is my carbon pawprint
A vegetarian diet
Little rain coats and hats
What, wait, no way, don’t even think
About putting me
In that “puppy pull toy”
You’ll pay for this
I know where you hide
Your golf shoes.
It happens over there,
a suburb, a state or half a world
or more away from where I live
in a quiet street with roses and hedges
hanging over front fences
with newly planted trees spaced
along a footpath the council truck
waters once a week.
For anything to get past
and make it to here must be filtered,
sanitised and packed in biodegradable
pouches and come with conditions
clearly stated in print bold enough
to see at arms length and most
important of all, have an off switch
that can be activated by an app
on a phone or a remote control.
What's more, it must be kept short
not taking too much time for it to clash
with commitments I previously made
over a coffee at the gym or make
me feel bad by its content or tax
my nerves by taking me to a place
which I have no desire to go.
So, I would be pleased if you kept it
over there, housed within the confines
of a television screen and sandwiched
between ads and promos for the latest
"Reality" show. And to keep
my conscience pristine, provide
an address I can send
a small donation to on my credit card
with a receipt so I can claim
the expense on my next
income tax return. Thank you.
Expensive bags, crafted with care
Leather smooth, a designer's flair
Gold hardware, a statement piece
For the elite, a luxury release
Mid-range bags, a balance found
Stylish yet practical, on solid ground
Functional pockets, room to store
For the busy, a daily chore
Inexpensive bags, simple and true
No frills, just what you need to do
Durable and reliable, a daily friend
For the budget-minded, a practical blend
Cheap plastic bags, a few pennies a piece
Holding your shopping, so thin and light
Drifting on the wind, what a sight
Filled with garbage, what a blight
Paper bags, made from trees
A natural choice, if you please
Biodegradable, a better fate
But not designed to hold much weight
Pockets too, can also be bags
Unless you need to carry eggs
They are no threat to the environment
But much too small except baggy pants
All bags, I guess, are pretty cool
From the most expensive to the least
Have pros and cons, like any human tool
They carry our stuff, with comfort and ease.
Don’t bury me in an eco-pod
for I am biodegradable already.
Don’t bury me in the earth,
or animal feces I might birth
nor in lead
because while lead is harmless to the dead
it is after all lead.
Don’t bury me under stone,
beneath a stone all alone.
Bury me in fermenting compost,
you may leave my feet
sticking out just for laughs.
Yes wormy me, good an
germy, awfully squirmy,
until all is dank and smelly,
the I will grow roses
out of my belly.
Seeking flexibility in a partner?
Someone quite persuadable?
Give me a whirl
If I'm not your pearl
Toss me out ~ I'm fully biodegradable!
TOO LATE?
The temperature’s rising day-by-day;
We pump too much carbon into the air.
It belches from chimney stacks dark and grey,
Exhaust fumes from travelling here and there.
Herds of cattle emitting foul gasses,
Thinning the ozone to let in more heat.
All bred solely for feeding the masses;
The scientists warm us to eat less meat.
Billions of tons of plastic each day,
Thrown into landfill or into the sea.
Non-biodegradable, it will stay
Polluting the planet for you and me.
Our chance of survival might be better
If our leaders just listen to Greta.
7th July 2021
Contemporary Sonnet Poetry contest
Sponsor - Charlotte Puddifoot
Betty Barbara Bailey borrowed a bright blue bather from from Benny B. Brooks
bathroom bashful Betty wore a bright blue biodegradable bikini for
Benny B. Brooks , who was actually Betty Barbara Bailey ,
a big, beautiful, bodacious, booty-licious boy/girl .
For contest : Tongue Twister
December 29, 2020
I am a land called, “America”.
I am called, “Educated”;
a “Super Power”,
but, I don’t feel “Super” or “Powerful”…
I am drained.
I wear the scars of human nature;
ignorance and greed.
I wear the scarlet blemishes of my own children;
Chinese, Irish, Native American, Jewish, Indian;
of everyone who ever crossed my soil or
were birthed in my womb.
I was built on the backs of slaves and the poor,
with materials dug from mines by immigrants.
People have traveled far to create me;
to imprint their blood and sweat on my body.
I was stolen from my first children
and forced upon others.
To some I am given, but, I wear the scars
of all species suffering and
abuses too numerously hideous to count.
My scars are not biodegradable;
they will not go away or be dissolved;
shredded or pulverized, but,
they can change, be transformed.
Humans created them,
only humans can heal them
but, will they?
With an unprecedented shortage of basic supplies
People worldwide are learning to be wise.
Loo rolls, medicine and the safety mask.
Making do with what we already have is the new task.
I’ve seen diapers and bras used as new safety covers.
Drugs for malaria and stool softeners as miracle cures, are just a few among others.
Even the orange headed one is coming up with new treatment ideas.
The new scene for loo rolls is now our expired tortillas.
Slowly thawed or quickly nuked with the microwave oven
Soft and abundant and recently discovered is the new lovin.
It might not be charmin, but equally as soft on the tush.
Biodegradable and able to flush, no longer needed is the backyard bush.
Non exchangeable
biodegradable
Given time may be changeable
However
Forever
Insatiable
Thrashing out the tempo of life
Misses a beat when presented with strife
Within Private chambers
initials inscribed
Etched with a promise
None but one can revive
I ate;
I ache;
Now I smell up the air;
passing those flatulent gassy breeze;
Inhaling warm air, burping a bleach;
Constipated, concentrated dreams;
Reality pinching me at the seems;
Evacuated;
Re-leaved myself;
Now I deposited wasted products;
Inhaling warm air, burping a bleach;
Biodegradable stents;
Reality pinching me at the seems;
Constipated, concentrated dreams;
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2018 ©
11/15/18
Dreams leak out of my mannequin head
My twisted plastic limbs are sprawled out on my bed
My expression ever frozen, in a dramatic pose
I'm not biodegradable but I want to decompose
A glue drop on my cheek to emulate a tear
I've been here 10 minutes or maybe 10 years
Out they go, rejected plastic
bags and bottles. Off they float,
dispersed. Where to?
There's no control.
Wind and ocean current swirling,
gathering all those broken
fragments. Human flotsam drawn
together, trafficked at what cost,
deflatable, adrift. Ashore,
caste unwanted.
Are they biodegradable?
What of their diversity?
Can they be reused? Restored?
Evidence of waste upcycled,
more than plastic identity,
or plastic credit.
The refuse refugee - is.
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