John Haines – Legend of Paper Plates
They trace their ancestry
back to the forest.
There all the family stood,
proud, bushy and strong.
Until hard times,
when from fire and drought
the patriarchs crashed.
The land was taken for taxes,
the young people cut down
and sold to the mills.
Their manhood and womanhood
was crushed, bleached
with bitter acids,
their fibers dispersed
as sawdust
among ten million offspring.
You see them at any picnic,
at ballgames, at home,
and at state occasions.
They are thin and pliable,
porous and identical.
They are made to be thrown away.
Date: November 4, 2014
Categories: John Haines