I’m at a loss for a message
in a plastic coke bottle
afloat in the sea
cast w/no regard to whatever
bird or fish or mammal or
marine invertebrate
may happen to come eye to eye
w/the great artificial monster
december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there was this piece of land
where all the plastic aliens lived
exiled for no apparent crime
other than the color of their skin
they wore red & white or purple & black
or various shades of pink & brown
standing anywhere from three feet short
to ten feet tall
all of them speaking different dialects
of the same language
every single one of them misunderstood
beneath the surface
below all the various shades of plastic colors
there were no vital organs
no hearts to love
no lungs to breathe
no eyes to lock onto
no lips to kiss
without ever procreating
their numbers increased every time
the tide came in
the mortality rate on their piece of land
an absolute zero
september two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
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