I write with a pencil
that used to be blue jeans,
a pen that once, was
trash.
Coiled light bulbs everywhere
whitewash coal,
fluoresce the dim glow
of self-satisfaction.
Is there any way to go
green? To be clean
and live lightly?
To go past saving money
(the only green that
gets anyone talking)?
—
This is a response to Robert Lee Brewer’s NaPoWriMo Earth Day prompt at Poetic Asides.
I think increasing awareness of our collective footprint and impact on the planet is a good thing, and I think it’s good for us to do our part and think about the impact of our actions (and our plastic and toxic junk) on the planet, but I often wish there was more concern for environmental protection beyond the ways in which we can now possibly profit from it. I don’t need to be able to cash in on something to make it worth saving. Maybe I’m funny that way.
You know what else is funny? The word bulb. I never really thought about it until I started working on this poem. I don’t know why, but the word makes me smile.
James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.
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