In the middle of a heatwave, someone had the gall
to leave a reeking load of garbage at the dump
and the refuse engineers who found it all
agreed on what a noxious, pile of rot it really was;
Sanitation being paramount in a crisis situation,
they shut down the landfill site and locked the entry gate
and made the cars with fresher loads sit and wait.
Now, all the dump officials met together at the station
to talk about the danger of putrid things in such decay
and how to bury it without procrastination,
all agreeing epidemics start that way;
Emitting, as trash does, nauseating gasses, it may
bloat and burst and spring a toxic leak,
frenzy all the seagulls, adding to the reek.
Fired up with indignation at the extra work they had
every worker then relied on union rules as they applied
to unexpected loads left to fester in the bag,
Fighting, as they do, to keep the status quo untried,
their right to compensation for work not Union signed.
For who has the final say in the dispose of dangerous trash,
management or labourer? - No one could decide.
And it came to this a most fitting end
as the sun rose high and the line grew long
every trunk of trash seared rank as hell,
the gate stayed locked and the Union strong
still smugly meeting above the rancid smell,
oblivious to the drivers and their collective grin
waiting for the moment trunk inspection will begin.
A contest entry
- garbage by zillion.
300 points, ended October 31, 2007, 9 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
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it's a pretty irritatingly funny poem. those kinds of situations seem to happen all the time in real life don't they? i like the rhyme scheme of this though. it's pretty good
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And it came to this a most fitting end
as the sun rose high and the line grew long
every trunk of trash seared rank as hell,
I guess the message could be “unions are bogus, man”
or “the cure was worse than the illness” or “bureaucrats
are pretty brainless” or “garbage WILL rot”. Am I any
where near close to what you were saying?
I don’t find garbage stories particularly poetic but you
DID paint a clear picture. Thus the applause.
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lol
man. -
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Yes but do you get it?
df
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