Today the kids excitedly remarked
On all the bottles, on the kitchen floor.
They've always known that I just keep them parked
Beside the pantry, by the kitchen door.
I must have had some twenty, maybe thirty.
No sodas - only seltzer. And some beer.
They sit forever, getting really dirty,
Until one day, I make them disappear.
I take them to the local A&P.
I stick them in this maddening machine,
Where guys line up with loads as big as me.
And -- may I say -- it smells like a latrine.
On really lucky days, it doesn't jam.
But when it does, the slowest of the staff
Comes out to change the bin, and with a slam,
Takes leave of us, the wretched human chaff
Who really want our stupid nickels back.
The whole experience is so distasteful
That I just let my seltzer bottles stack,
Until I'm so ashamed of being wasteful
I find a way to brave humiliation,
And face this sickening recycling station.
--
And meanwhile, in the kitchen, son and daughter
Announced they want my bottles, by the door,
From soda, beer, and carbonated water.
There's something that they're saving nickels for.
And why deny the hope that fills their eyes?
Their mother gave consent - she thinks it wise
To show them nickels adding up to wealth.
And I get my recycling done, by stealth.
Perhaps I'll even stop in at the store,
And get some seltzer. More, and more, and more.
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Alysa Salzberg
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Comments
Love the picture you paint here. We no longer have returnables here, but I can just imagine how unpleasant the task is, and why you'd let the bottles stack up.
Kudos to you.
Rated with hugs
Nor a nickel in our currency found
But I like your post dear Bard of Divorce
Recycling is our good and common ground
It means, "Drop by drop, it makes a lake". Your poem in its iambic, rhyming verse reminded me of her words. Thank you. ~R~
What you are up to here is impressive and wonderful. I love that I can click on anything I see to my left and meet some meter. I feel greedy and I'm gonna run with that feeling for now. Thanks, Divorce Bard.
Thank you. Thank you for reading, thank you for commenting, and thank you for your patience!
'Night