Just another Carton.

Just another carton lying in the dust
And debris of advanced civilisation,
Kicked by scuffed trainers from
Children who go home and their
Mother's think, why do I spend
My money this way? On brand names
That will soon be obsolete
With the next craze.

Just another carton lying in the dust,
The name worn by sun and rain.
Just enough to show you once held
Fruit juice from a land far away
Where the children shimmy up
The trees to get the fruit that made
You. Bare feet kick a football and
Dream of wealth.

Just another carton lying in the dust
Of memories. She once sipped it
Through a straw, slurping noises
From the bottom. He turned away in
Disgust. Not a girl to take home to
Mother, who would see, not the pretty
Face or gentle nature, but a girl
From the wrong side of town.

Just another carton lying in the dust
Of dreams shredded and laid bare.
It's not your fault that you lay here,
Empty and discarded, I would take
You home, to my dreary existence
To prove a point that mankind
Abandons those who are different,
Except I share in this disgrace.

Just another carton lying in the dust
Trampled and worn, your contents
Emptied a long time ago. Still, I
Wonder what could have been
Were you aware you'd end up here?
Where the artist looks for inspiration
And finding none, turns away, not
Knowing, what he left behind.

© Lisa Fuller. March 2006.