'Bon Voyage, Bottle' ........ [journey Of A Roadside-Tossed Bottle; Water Pollution] Poem by Bri Edwards

Stopping by the drug store
she bought six-pack of drink,
took back to children, four,
and set it by the sink.

Next day the teenage son
grabbed ONE as he went out
to pal around for fun,
skateboarding with a shout.

Down the hill, to downtown,
long hair flying high,
he drank the water down,
and dropped the empty with a sigh.

The bottle rolled to the curb
and sat there for a week,
in a middle-class suburb,
not far from a nearby creek.

A wind came up one night,
and then a sudden gust
took the bottle that was light
and tossed it like a speck of dust......

into a big vacant lot
(filled with trash and weeds) ....
onto a sandy spot.
[In the bottle bugs stored seeds.]

Then one day a tomboy,
wandering through the lot,
thought at first ‘twas a toy,
then said “what have I got? ”

Ants were still inside
guarding the precious food.
She cut it open wide,
and dumped out ants; how rude!

She dumped seeds as well,
and took bottle to the creek.
The day was hot as Hell.
There, a smoke she did sneak.

She dipped the bottle in creek water,
poured it on her feet.
The water, pleasure brought her;
it was a cooling treat.

Care-less, she left the bottle
when off to home she went.
Nearby a duck did waddle.
Another day was spent.

Three weeks passed on by,
and Bottle sat like a bum.
Then clouds formed in the sky,
and a rain storm did soon come.

The creek level did swell,
scouring rocky shore.
The bottle now fell;
its stay had been a bore.

Down the creek it washed
towards San Francisco Bay.
Bottle did get squashed,
but continued on its way.

(January 2013)