Humans

Ocean:
​A prisoner
tied to mucky 
hands.
I suck 
in your waste 
and collect the treasures 
you abandon.
Drills scheduled 
around the clock 
for safety precautions.
Do not swallow 
any floating objects. 
Abstain from flapping 
around in iridescent puddles.
Plastic bags are not necklaces.
You toss your beer 
cans and sprinkle 
chemicals and raw 
sewage into my home 
like a guest who has disregarded 
any manners. 
You have mistaken
me for a dumping ground. 
One day you will destroy 
every ounce of me.
I will become too clustered 
with all the things you never liked,
and I will fade 
into what you've always wanted me to become-
trash. 
You'll reminisce 
on what it was like to dip
your toe against my surface
as you tanned against
my shore.
But when my shackles 
finally sink 
me into oblivion, 
do not pretend 
to mourn 
my loss. 

Forest:
You slash
and burn 
my limbs,
all desparate 
for a piece of my body.
I'm forced to watch 
your reckless
lives unfold 
as I'm shaped 
into all the excess
things you chain 
me for. 
I feel your ink
against my flesh
as you try to capture 
the magnitude of human fallibility
in your novels,
but somehow forget 
to look down at the saw 
clenched between your hands.