Note: Sharlene wrote this poem to submit to the 2020 Fighting Words Poetry Contest hosted by the Pulitzer Center. The poem is a response to the video Rainforest Defenders.

Plastic Waste

By Sharlene Almanzar

The problem of waste

Destroying the environment,

destroying my home.

Permanent scars left after burning the plastic,

Leaving the toxic grey smoke to roam…

See what I’ve been able to see, what my grandparents spoke of

See what mother nature made, I always loved.

Preserve what the green nature offers.

Grasp the beauty I once saw,

for future generations to come,

Fix this consequence of a flaw.

Everything is plastic

From a toy doll a child once cherished

To the packaging of food that keeps humans alive

Yet it is a threat affecting the future

Yet it is something that surrounds us

Backing us up into a corner

Suffocating the environment like a plastic bag

Finding the solution is not as easy as it sounds;

The jungle is not infinite, and one day it will end

Raise awareness and inform others,

most are deprived from environmental education.

Bring this problem back to light,

Leave your doubts of never fixing this in the shadows.

The problem of waste.