Fast and furious-
Like machines.
Take a second and
Look around.
We're real life-
But we act as chess
Pawns.
Letting ourselves become
Manipulated
Into a mechanical state,
The FDA loving it.
Stuck in our patterns-
Cigarettes please!
Add on some Coke,
Double the dose of potential cancer-
Best tasting poison that's
Slipped down my throat.
When will we wake up?
There's no second chances in
This game of Life.
In this game, losing is real.
Losing a loved one, losing a friend
Losing our will power to stand up
Against the higher corporation.
Our cravings engulf us,
The enticing packaging
Of the Double Stuff Oreos.
How does the obesity taste?
Oh, I hope it's good.
Worth the years slipping away
From your life as your arteries clog
The desperate pained looks from
Your children
As your only solution is to
Lose yourself in the bottom
Of that bottle
Seeing no other way out.
Last time I checked,
We couldn't live this way.
No second chances are given in
This Life game.
I want to scream.
Yell out.
I am like a mini agent of the FDA
Perpetuating the ignorance.
Scanning tubs of Breyer's mint chocolate
Chemicals.
Bags of Lay's
Heart attacks.
Doing it all with a
smile on my face.
Let me see how many ways
I can help you die.
An agency to protect
The people?
You give me 20 bucks
And I'll give you something
To rot your brain into
Alzheimer's by the time
You're 40.
Deal?
You tell me whose
Being protected.
There are no second chances
In this Life.
Hi, my name is Kelsie.
How can I help you?
Pack of Marlboro's please-
In a box.
Of course.
Quivering hand,
Supplying them with their
Key to failure.
To the end-
The end of the relationships
Slowly unraveling
Like the packed cigarette
Thrown on the pavement
For me to step on.
The end of dealing with it.
Sad, droopy eyes of the
Small boy. Fed up.
The man's lungs disintegrating
Like the enamel of his teeth.
I hold out the package,
Can smell the faint tobacco on his breath.
Dad please stop.
I can hear the plea.
But it's a gift for you son-
Take a big inhale of this
Addiction.
If my lungs are going to cry,
So are yours.
He's a machine in his pattern-
I'm a machine with a job to do.
Looks like it's not turning out good
For you kid.
No easy pass Go
In this Life.
What will it take?
To get out of the patterns-
The patterns
killing us.
Maybe the head owners of
Overpowering chain supermarkets
And the big shot FDA corporations
Should take a swig of their
Newest soda.
The one they approved
For it's sugar-packed contents
Rotting every major organ
From the inside out.
Annihilating our bodies.
They cry out, but they're too far gone.
And how about they take a puff
Of the new gold brand, and let their lungs
Cough. Like the little boy's do.
I hope the money feels dirty in
Their pockets now.
What will it take for us to
Stop playing this game?
This is life, this is real.
As real as bodies and families and
Complete lives, destroyed
By sickness.
No second chances in this game.
We're keeping the hospitals in business.
When will we wake up?
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I thought this was a very interesting outlook on your job Kelsa. Knowing you work at Hannys it was easier to comprehend, but I still think your imagery and details shows someone alot about how you're feeling. I've never thought of looking at being a cashier this way- but it's true. You must see lots of different people through your lines day to day, buying things and you wish you could just tell them NO! DONT! but you have a job to do...intriguing, love ya.
ReplyDeleteI remember when you read this during class, it was so powerful! I can definitely relate to everything you said! Sometimes it is hard to be a cashier because we always want to help people but we cant... ughhh. If only we could truly "be the difference" as they always tell us in the training videos!
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that you actually think about this and have a problem with it. I feel like most people just don't care at all.
ReplyDeleteYou know I love this poem. The reactions here should tell you this works. I really think you should slam this poem for an audience. Do it!
ReplyDeleteI remember helping you revise this poem for that peer revision project, and I am amazed at how far it has come since I first read it! You did a good job connecting all the ideas that you originally had, and making the whole piece flow. I really enjoy the abrupt line breaks that you implemented, it makes the whole poem read faster, matching the pace of your job and the tension of the situation.
ReplyDeleteI like this poem because I feel like people truly do want to help other people but you can't always, and sometimes that can be a tough struggle. I think this poem does a good job of illustrating that.
ReplyDeleteI like how you used really specific details in this poem such as the "faint tobacco smell in his breath." I can really get an image in my mind of what you're talking about.
ReplyDelete"But we act as chess
ReplyDeletePawns.
Letting ourselves become
Manipulated
Into a mechanical state,"
I think about this all the time which is why I try to help people out as much as possible. I do not want to be that Pawn and be manipulated, even if that is the easiest way. Fantastic poem Kelsie.
I love the story woven into this while having it still be poetic. Great piece of work and fun to read.
ReplyDeleteYou come off as a much angrier person than I think you actually are. maybe grocery stores bring out the worst in people, which I guess is kind of the point you're making.
ReplyDelete^ whoa haha. Kelsie, I love this poem! I could like hear you reading it out loud as I read it. This is super deep and you did a really good job at putting the reader in your shoes, I could feel what you feel.
ReplyDelete