The Polluters

By Dynamaso

Tue, 05 Aug 2008
  • 2413 reads
9 comments
 

They gather in their winter coats;
Stare off distantly.
I nod and smile and stand a while;
They say not a word to me.
They strip the trees, raze the ground
Give over all they find.
I protest, for real and jest,
But they pay me no never mind.

They gather up their summer togs;
Stare off out to sea.
I rant and dance for the chance
They might listen to me.
Behind them is a trail of rubbish
Of their picnic in the sand.
I cry tears that fall on deaf ears
But I’m not crying for them anymore;

I’m crying for the land.

Certificate U
Poem
Poetry & Song Lyrics
Miscellaneous

Comments

Submitted by mykle on
The points you make are, sadly, very true, Dynamaso. These thoughtless people who often look like bulldogs chewing a wasp drop all their rubbish where ever they go with never a thought to the cost. Sea birds, particularly the Albatross, are suffering very badly with almost all the youngsters polluted by plastic. While I was in Phuket recently a whale died on the beach in Patong its stomach full of plastic rubbish. Discarded flip-flops travel the world and herald the domination of the Litter-bug! So cry for the land but pray for the sea and the Plastic People who dispoil all they see. Makes you wonder if the dinosaurs covered everything with their shit until they all died of food poisoning.

Submitted by jennifer on
More bins, especially recycling bins round town centres, would also help and encourage people not to be so bad-mannered to the planet. I could rail all day, but I will simply say - good point made with a great poem!

 

Submitted by Dynamaso on
Mykle, thanks for your considered comments. Like you, I am often sickened by the way a lot of folk treat the planet as if it is one big rubbish tip; the fast food eaters who can't be bothered finding a bin; the smokers who throw their butts where ever; school kids and old folk alike who pay absolutely no mind to where they dump their detritus. I have found myself almost at the point of wanting to commit violence against some paltry offender. Thankfully, self-control wins the day. But I wonder for how long I can hold out. Jen, I agree, more bins would certainly help. But I've seen people throw rubbish on the ground rather than take a half-dozen steps and put it in a bin. Some people simply have no respect for anything, not even themselves.

 

Submitted by mykle on
Thank you for your comments, Dynamaso. So few people actually bother to respond. I often start picking rubbish up and throwing it in the bin - not as an attempt to send a message to those who have dropped it but simply because it is no effort and I somehow feel better after doing it. I think the hardest thing to take is watching parents ignore their children as they litter the landscape - how will they learn without guidance?

Submitted by Dynamaso on
There was a campaign here in Australia that focussed on people who discard rubbish carelessly, with the tag line of 'Don't be a tosser'. I thought it might work, particularly with the kids but I really don't think it has made any difference. It is sad to think, despite education and such campaigns, that people still behave so selfishly. Sad and disappointing, particularly when I do have a lot of faith in humanity.

 

Submitted by mykle on
I like the Thai approach which sadly wouldn’t work in most other countries. They pay a small amount per kilo for plastic bottles or metal cans etc. but since prices are so low in Thailand people can make a poor living from it. The downside is that you see people scavenging through litter bins to make up their ‘quota’ which can’t be very hygienic. Sadly it isn’t very effective on the beaches as the tourists tend to chuck everything on the sand and the sea often gets it before the ‘collectors’ do. Mind you a lot of UK beaches are worse and I can’t understand why we allow it - especially when there are little children running about with bare feet. A fifty pound fine and a few Litter Guards with Polaroid cameras should do the trick :O)

Submitted by Dynamaso on
While I understand why it happens, I find it sad that people can make a living, of a sort, from other picking up other's rubbish. But it says a lot about the state of the world, doesn't it? Are the tourists a new form of eco-terrorist - the travelling polluter? And I'm all for the idea of putting CCTV cameras on beaches to catch people dumping or leaving their rubbish behind. Fifty pounds seems hardly enough to deter a lot of people. The authorities should make it five hundred pounds. Or better still, the litterbugs should have to spend a weekend on emu patrol, which is a thing we used to do at school as punishment - walking around the playground picking up rubbish.

 

Submitted by shoebox on
Interesting, timely theme and great rhyme scheme! Smooth. I'd revise it a time or two more. Then, you've got a super one.

Submitted by Dynamaso on
Shoebox, thanks for reading and commenting. Revision is not something I'm particularly good at, when it comes to my poems. But having said this, I appreciate I could make it better so will give it a try.