I get a bottle of water
and I drink it down
because I am thirsty
I try to finish the whole thing
because if I am
to purchase water
and create waste
I want to at least use it up
but there remains
a bit left in the folds
at the bottom of the bottle
I can’t seem to get it out
and I start to feel guilty
I generate so much waste
this bottle
the exhaust from my car
all that I flush away
all that I drag to the curb
every Thursday
how can I ever feel ok
about the fact that
my life’s biggest legacy
will be all this trash I’ve left behind
I find no solace even
in the fact that so much
of human history
is known only
through its trash
is studied through ruins
of all that’s been discarded
so maybe it is not just
a me problem
but something human
something that is a curse
we have scattered out
into the verdant world
that our lifespans
have never exceeded
that of our trash
but that doesn’t make
the waste I generate
any less depressing
nor does it decompose
any faster if I feel bad about it
I am overwhelmed
so I squeeze the bottle
and am able to release
the remaining bit of liquid
from the plastic
and I guess that is something
or maybe it isn’t enough
maybe nothing really is