by Carmen Tafolla
“It’s a goddam materialistic world,”
says my friend Steve, the poet.
“when people care more for goddam corporate profits
than for the health of kids, elders
or the poor limpin planet.”
But on the news, the President says the planet’s fine,
the air is fine, the elders fine,
no kid’s behind, and won’t we sign
for an additional three billion a week
to protect our troops by bombing someplace new and different.
I change the channel. The Eco-News reports on something positive
ecologically responsible
stylishly simple
“Leave your humble mark
on the universe of future generations.
Choose the eco-friendly option.
No high-priced, everlasting, steel-reinforced
grey metal casket meant to impress
But an artistically designed pod
of sturdily reconstructed, recycled paper,
all guaranteed to be safely
bio-degradable.
Plan ahead for peace of mind
Pre-purchase available now, March 2008.
The $3,000 sticker price and the jet fuel trail
of specialized shipment from London
such a small cost for being so admirably remembered.”
Steve spits, slams the door on his eleven-year-old
VW Bug, laughs at how his friends all call him “Hell” for short.
tends to the daughter’s cough, the niece’s strange new illness,
consoles the sister-in-law whose mother’s in the hospital
in such bad shape, and keeps on writing, poetry, on a recycled paper bag.
The radio news continues
knowing
that going green, after all, means
moving beyond material attractions,
looking for simplicity
in choices for life and death,
not buying the frivolous
or luxurious,
or,
at very least,
buying
the perfectly
right
thing
Chicana poet Carmen Tafolla is the author of five books of poetry, seven screenplays, and several children's books. She has been awarded the Art of Peace Award for writing which promotes peace and social justice. Her new collection of short stories The Holy Tortilla and a Pot of Beans will be released by Wings Press this May.
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