I Am Plastic #PlanetOrPlastic

I am Plastic

I am everywhere.
From the straws you drink with,
to the clothes you wear,
and even to the phones you use.
I am all around you in the most undeniable way.
You use me. You know me.

But you forget me, don't you?

To you, I am convenience.
I am the articles you skim through,
The ones you frown upon,
Make a small comment on,
then your attention is gone.
I am the pictures that show how convenience leads to ignorance.
So, is your ignorance bliss?
I am the face you refuse to look at.
The lifestyle you won't change.
The cost you might soon pay.

My problem grows bigger and louder,
yet somehow, you refuse to listen.

So let me remind you:
I am the trash that pollutes the water your children drink.
I am the illusion of a meal through the eyes of a sea turtle.
I am suffocatingly present.
I am the small broken pieces
that freckle the ocean.
I am consumed from one species to another until
I make my way up to the fish you capture.
Then, I am the very dish you eat at dinner.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.
It all repeats. It all gets worse.

I swim through your home's waters like a parasite.
Deadlier than the creatures you fantasize about in your movies.
Realer, too.
Are you scared?

For I am convenience,
But I am also destruction.

I am plastic.
Now, you are too.

Wait a second.
Hear me out.
I am not unstoppable.
I am far from impossible.
There is hope,
There is light,
There is life.

I may be all around you,
But change surrounds me.
Voices talk, spread.
There is a new wave
of relief.
I can feel the difference.
The potential.
The opportunities.
They're like drums in a fog.
The light breaking through a dark sky.
It's coming
It's happening.
Right now.

"Reusable straws," they say.
"Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!" more chant.
They are inventing, solving, innovating.
They beg others to listen,
and more do.
They're like fire catching on.
They're the difference.

Your home will be yours again,
and you want to know why?

It's because you want change too, don't you?
Well, then, help make it.

Your decision is now:
Planet or Plastic?

-Aniella