Monday, March 24, 2008

garbled garbage-----Read Write poem/Monday Poetry Train


Ride the Monday Poetry train too...


one side of that paper you threw away is totally blank-
your son could have practised his maths problems there.
you could written your rough musical notes
saving on the new ones you always seem to use and throw.

the envelopes can be turned inside out, folded again
and glued, then you can see those are as good as new-
the sturdy ones stay forever, carrying much load
ironing those can be reused for covering books.

do not discard that cotton tunic, faded it might be-
it still has life. it can be gainfully turned into a carry bag
with rop strings and beads from old necklace, where
it comes on its own, to be much admired and treasured.

recycle the water in which you washed the rice into potted plants-
vegetable wastes work as great fertilizer, enriching
the soil. egg shells provide calcium. what you call garbage
is fodder for the earthworms which nurture the earth..

"if only we understood the value of reuse, recycle and reduce"

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This is not complete. It can't be...there are too many things we throw away. Those can be soo beautifully recycled. Please feel free to add to the list. Someday I might get around adding to this one...

22 comments:

Crafty Green Poet said...

excellent advice, i am of course always in favour of recycling...

Julia Phillips Smith said...

My friend and I were talking about our grandparents, how they would reuse things till they weren't recognizable as their original form. In the old days they could do that because things lasted longer in the first place. The pride of the manufacturer was in longevity. Now things are made to wear out so they'll have to be replaced.

Hopefully we're not too far away from the consumer generation being a strange blip on the human radar.

Kai said...

i like this piece.

Anonymous said...

It's obvious, yet nobody does it. I'm glad there's someone who's concerned.

Am In Trance said...

Hmm.. How Nice Idea..!!
Yea, Indeed we should think the possibilities of things before we surrender them to the Garbage-Bin...

And Yeah, Sweet Poem..!!! ;o)

magiceye said...

we tend to forget we too are recycled!

iamnasra said...

This a very enriching poem...on how we can give back to enviroment

L said...

so true

totomai said...

oh, the beauty of recycling. such an interesting take on the prompt :-) many would think that recycling is not good, oh, theyre missing a lot hehe

R.G. ALEXANDER said...

Yes! We live in, as julia said, a society where things are made to be used and thrown away.
Thank you for this :)

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Recycled things used to be called "hand-me-downs," remember? Now I treasure the old green bag my mother used to keep her clothespins (sp) in, and I display the old headlight my dad used to wear on his miner's hardhat.

chicklegirl said...

This makes me think of the still-timely saying (which I think gained popularity in the US during 1930s-era Depression): "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

WH said...

Very meaningful post. It has become a wasteful world.

Anonymous said...

love the idea of using old things and turn them into something useful and worthy of new appreciation. I can't think of anything worth adding at the moment

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I do my best, G. I do!!

I think that Julia's right. The consumer generation disappearing ... how wonderful that would be. To go back to things lasting eons...

When I think about how disposable we've become, all I can think is "How Brave New World of us," ya know?

LA Nickers said...

Super suggestions!

Linda Jacobs said...

I know I am wasteful and am ashamed. Thank you for this eye-opener!

Anonymous said...

You're just as creative in your ways to recycle and re-use as you are in your poems. A lively read.

anthonynorth said...

Very true words. I'm a recycler nowadays.

Anonymous said...

loved each one...esp. reusing envelopes..it reminded me of my grandad, who cut the front portion of tooth paste tubes and used them as hooks...

polona said...

a wonderful reminder howlittle it takes to do something for the environment and yet how rarely we do it...
thank you

Gemma Wiseman said...

Recycling is all about getting back to basics and valuing what we have! Sadly, we always need a reminder not to forget!

Great post!