Poetry – examples
THE LETTER OF THE LAW
It was a noisy crowd, jostling and shoving one another
all in good fun, of course, at the base of the lemon tree,
1000 or so gathered in expectation of the climb and aerial
assault, reminding me of the siege of Masada by the Roman troops
over 2000 years ago.
The air was ablaze with the excitement of the hunt—one could
almost smell blood—anything could happen; it could be
dangerous, they might not reach the top, and if they got there,
what would they find…or not? What if someone had gotten
there first, then what? Would it be a fight to the finish?
Why were they going there in the first place? Did anyone really know,
or was this just another mindless group like the lemmings,
ready to plunge off a cliff in blind allegiance?
Out of the blue, a sudden stream of water dashed the hopes of
the 1000 to the ground, crushing them in its cold, cruel grip.
They were swept off the tree trunk in mid-sentence, ten by ten,
and fell to the earth to perish, or more likely to be devoured by
their enemies waiting nearby.
……They had no permits, she said nonchalantly, as she picked up
her hose and sprayed the last ant she could see on the lemon tree’s
main trunk. It’s written right here—see, no demonstrations, no
rallies, no mass gatherings. Loiterers will be prosecuted to the
full extent of the law, my law, that is.
And without further thought, she moved the hose onto the next fruit tree.
__________
IT’S FLEXIBLE, IT’S FANTASTIC—IT’S PLASTIC
It’s in your face, it’s everyplace,
It’s malleable, fantastic,
The fabric of our very lives
Let’s give a hand for plastic.
It bends, it stacks, it’s modular,
It’s flexible, transparent,
A wonder of the modern age,
To me it’s quite apparent.
It’s ball-point pens and
see-through eggs,
Gore-tex, GI Joes,
Barbie Dolls in sporty cars
With Jellies on their toes.
Fishing lures and Tupperware,
Legos, Band-Aids too,
Prosthetic limbs, replacement joints,
A Jarvik heart for you.
Leisure suits and panty hose,
Spandex, press-on nails,
Flamingos for your back or front,
And credit cards for sales.
Shopping bags, and Plexiglas,
Velcro, Fiberglass boats,
Astroturf and hula hoops,
And Dacron-zippered coats.
Videotapes, cassettes and discs,
And Mister Potato Head,
Naugahyde chairs for sleeping,
And machines to make your bread.
Teflon, Trojans, bullet-proof vests,
Explosives come to mind,
Silly putty, parachutes,
And Levelor window blinds.
It’s at your side right to the end,
When in a coffin you lie,
Sleeping the sleep of eternal bliss,
6 feet under the sky.
For wood decays and metal rusts,
But plastic is forever,
Braving bugs and pests and worms,
And any kind of weather.
It’s in your face, it’s everyplace,
It’s flexible, fantastic,
There’s nothing like it anywhere,
And nothing lasts like plastic!
It’s in your face, it’s everyplace,
It’s flexible, fantastic,
It’s with you for eternity,
Get used to it—that’s plastic!
