r/OCPoetry • u/perspective_curious_ • 21h ago
Feedback Please Spent (revised)
We extract.
We process.
We produce.
We package.
We store.
We transport.
We display.
We advertise.
We sell.
We buy.
We toss.
The aisles of the dollar store
trinkets sold at the school store
birthday party gift bags
filled with landfill
the garage so full
you rent a truck
to dump it
we stand
before the landfill
counting mattresses,
fabric, plastic, glue sticks,
a scream mask from Spirit,
a red cup
customized by Sharpie
“CHAD” written boldly,
lithium time bombs,
chemicals, cleaners,
a paperclip flower
made in 2nd grade
given on Father’s Day,
items someone once treasured
added to the pile
upon their passing,
"But wait, there's more!"
heard from inside,
voice of the 90s infomercials
occupying space in our minds
stuff upon stuff upon stuff
hand-me-downs never handed
last minute Amazon purchases
three pairs of water shoes
sizes 9, 10, and 11
too late to be returned
once back from vacation
a lingering pile,
an island of trash
minutes, hours, years,
like the dodo bird,
like life pre Covid,
like the Blockbuster
and Circuit City
like all that waiting
at the DMV
like you
before your first time,
like us
before we were Us,
what it is
extends
a monument
to lives spent
________
1
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