Recycling for Obstinate Dummies

Let me try 

Breaking it down for you 
Once and for all— 

Environmental waste is what remains 
When we take everything 

We want from the earth 
And leave nothing 

But our stinking remains. 

Ionian Threnody

These children being washed 
Up lifeless on our sun-drenched shores, 
From what illustrious race are they descended 
And what woe has brought them to us 
In God’s name? 

Surely some great catastrophe 
Has befallen them 
And they seek nothing 
But a far, far better world than that 
From which they came. 

If we could but tell them 
At last the journey’s over 
And their lives not lived in vain, 
Who would cleanse our bodies 
Of our frightful, faceless shame? 

Peace for Our Time, Brothers

Sometimes—and it just might be 
This time around—one has to 
Come to terms with the term 
“Unconditional surrender”— 

But like any survivor, be he 
Vanquished or victorious 
Breaking down each 
And every article of war, 

I wouldn’t guarantee it. 

Poet Found Sleeping on the Job

I bet you’ve heard this one time and time again— 
Your next word could be your last. So why 

Weren’t you paying attention? 

I Reckon That Wannabe Done Reckoned Wrong

There was this whole slew 
Of opportunities awaiting 
His every beck and call, 
But each was blind and deaf 
And couldn’t walk at all.