Social Injustice ~ 2 Poems by Chris Giovacchini

Twice the size of Texas &

In your Face, Hard to Face, Face it . . .!

by Chris Giovacchini

Twice the size of Texas

In just decades an aggregation of plastic has formed in the
Pacific ocean, bigger than the Lone Star State.
It comes to shore in beached whales gorged to death by it.
The age old practice of dumping at sea, is now antiquated, but illegally
Continues. Back in the day, garbage dumped at sea, biodegraded or sank.
But now, the cost efficient plastic packaging does not.

Sadly, most of it comes from land, washed to sea from storm drains,
Beach parties and picnic’s, where the junk is left where it lies.
“Pack it in, Pack it out,” is the Backpacker’s credo, “Dispose of garbage
Properly,” SHOULD BE every human’s credo. Even then, some of the stuff
Can still find it’s way to the sea, blown by the wind, into rivers and streams.

The flotsam and jetsam gets caught up in the mammals,
Caught up in the entrails of the earth.

A race of unconscious litter bugs who ain’t thinking it through,
On their computers, far removed, in denial, of foul play, of
Finding another way, that might cut into Profits.

Compact it, recycle it, for sea sakes, try just a little bit harder, to not foul the nest.

Once there was talk of limiting population growth, radiation therapy for
Metastasized Mankind. The premise was to just reproduce yourself instead
Of rabbiting away at it. But all those rabbits are big consumers and mean
GROWTH, so loved by capitalist economies, whose plastic packaging
Is such a cost effective solution to feeding and servicing their numbers.

Even though, the planet is choking on it.

Narration by Chris Giovacchini

In your face, Hard to face, Face it…!

I never thought I’d see it again in my lifetime.

After all the dues paid and struggles fought, for the last sixty years.
I believed it an old truck passing in the other direction on a country road fading away
In the rear view mirror. I thought these concepts were gone, outdated,
That we’d evolved as a people.

But, sadly, the cards were still on the table, still in play, albeit face down, cloaked.

The disdain and scapegoating of Latino immigrants, as rapists, and criminals.

The continued racial profiling and open season on African Americans.
The shoot to kill policy toward a Black child in a playground, with a toy gun.
In the land of the free, Black kids can’t play army, or cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers,
Although, Uncle Sam is quick to arm them in his foreign wars, for profit.

Why are THEM seen, as not US, who are US…?

No rock was left standing at Standing Rock. The obsolete fossil fuel pipeline went
Counterintuitively under the lake. How does it not eventually leak and contaminate that
Water resource? But it had to go through, like the Pony Express, and it will take 50 years
Of pumping that fossilized energy source through it, to make it pay.

If only… it were “Fake News.”

The Great White Father has always lied to the Native Americans.
Over 400 treaties were made with the North American tribes, all of them broken.

How does it feel, now that YOU are the Indians,
And the forked tongue is back in vogue?