Sunday, June 14, 2009

Entropic Wasteland


My eyes burned and watered as i looked over the horizon,pillars of black smoke greeted the evening sky with a poisonous kiss.In my arms a little girl whimpered and squirmed as i picked my way through a rubber jungle of black tires.Like so many other things, she to was tossed out with the rest of the garbage. Myself and so many others also made up the land of the forgotten.Through the muck and grime we foraged for anything "useful".Maybe just maybe we would be fortunate to find an aluminum can, or a piece of copper wire, but no only rubber tires; as far as the eyes can see.
If you ask me how it all happened,how it came to this i really could'nt tell you. In hindsight, if i think back the writing was on the wall. Who would of thought the saving of the planet, would of meant the rape of it's people.Yeah, no one saw it comming; that is to say no everyday person saw it comming."Shh little one" i whispered, trying to stifle hunger cries from my unwanted orphan. "There are worst things than hunger in this Jungle".
We hadn't eaten for 5days now, the only thing that parted our lips was the murky,filthy water we walked in. It so easy to get angry with the politicians,but in truth we the people allowed this to happen, we fueled the greed of the wealthy. It started first with the housing crash,then the banks and auto industries followed.The system wasn't broken, as long as everyone was getting rich "the fundamentals of our economy was sound".When the house of cards fell and the dust settled, everyone was united in getting the country back on the right track.We were going in a new direction,words like transperancy,honesty,clean coal technology,fuel efficiency were the new catch phrases of the day. But it was the middle class,the poor who paid for it with our servitude.
"We all must make sacrifices" one politician said, those dicks with their "politricks" steered us into a snare that our blind loyalty didn't see comming.We worked and worked and were promised that "eventually the wealth would trickle down".Bull shit, soon the rich began to build high rises and gated communities; as we the working poor were herded like sheeps into areas that became dumps.
Oh yes we became a nation of recyclers alright,cans,bottles, papers all found new uses in this new dispensation.Only the working class seemed obsolete, we recycled so much; that there was nothing left for the poor to scavange on. Tire dumps became plentiful,you see even though we drove fuel efficent cars we could'nt find out how to deal with the old tires.Instead, we stored them in open spaces that became dumps; until we could find some use for them.
Officers frequented the dumps, drawn to the fires that the people living in the dumps set ablaze. This was done to protest the injustice enacted on the poor. The gap between the rich and poor grew to epic propotions,there was no more middle class.We became what the politicians called"usless eaters".Useless eaters, we were responsible for the environmentally friendly,houses,cars,garments,schools; how could they discard us like this.You know what, we have only ourselves to blame.We believed the propaganda, it is true what the Island people say " the greatest lie is one sandwiched between to truths"; and we took our with ketchup,mustard and all the condiments.
Some movement catches my peripheral vision,a few people scurried between tires ahead of us.I had to hide in case they decided that me and my little companion looked delicious.We've been walking endlessly,I am so tired and hungry,the burden in my arms soon becomes more and more heavy.As i continue to walk to nowhere, frail straved bodies with hollow eyes peer up at me. My secret promise,I'm not going to go out like that,I'm not.
Soon my legs give way,so i found myself sitting on furnitures of ruin lives and broken dreams. The the little one in my arms grows weaker also. For both of us I cry but there are no tears; i know what must be done. I've been carrying her for weeks because she no longer had the strength to carry herself.Why i did it? I guess i did it because i was tired of wandering this wasteland alone. Never had i asked her name ,nor did i call her by anything of meaning it just did'nt seem important. "Please heaven forgive me this act, forgive me for loosing faith". never looking down, i didn't want her eyes to look into mines.
I turned toward the burning horizon as my hands covered her mouth and nose, she was so weak she did'nt even struggle.When she finally went limp I held her close , mustering enough strength i threw her among the other debris. I tried not to feel bad, comforting myself with sick rationalizations i told myself, people throw things away everyday.
Leaving my burden behind i trudge on, mulling over and over in my mind that I had a job, a home and a husband; all of that laid desolate and empty in a distant past. I like so many believed in the American dream, the pusuit of freedom,love, happiness yeah all that shit . Love and truth walk hand in hand they say,but if the need is great enough,people can learn to love a lie? Ah yes the present situation prooves that theory to be true sadly to one's detriment."Oh look,it's my lucky day; a serated alluminum can". Sitting on a tire 50ft from my discarded parcel I breathe in the stench of burning tires and rotting flesh.
I marvel at how the blood from my freshly cut wrist blends nicley with the black oily water of this entropic wasteland. Closing my eyes against the sound of blood pumping in my ears. "No worries" i said "people throw things away everyday".

2 comments:

  1. Really powerful piece for sure. I like how this flash relates to all the problems going on today and what our future might mean. There are a few typos but other than that the story is very well done.

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  2. Wow did you really want to depress me this much? That is the first time I read anything that you've written and I have to tell you that I am floored.

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