The Unsung Hero Of The Road (The Roadsweeper) Poem by bryan wallace

Resplendent in standard issue county council yellow,
The road-sweeper pauses on the pavement's edge
With his faithful rubbish cart at his side
And his litter grabbing device poised in hand.
With a sigh and a heavy heart, he sadly surveys
This beer bottle strewn mess before his eyes.

Slowly and methodically he begins
This thankless errand on which he is sent.
Patiently and methodically he begins to lift
The cast-offs from the great un-caring.
Those lovely community-spirited guys and gals
Who treat our public streets and beauty spots
As their own personal waste-paper basket.

Is it really too much to ask -
That these lovely people who litter our world
Could possibly work out how to use a bin
Or carry their rubbish home again.
Surely, if you can bring it with you -
Is it really too much to ask that you might
Take it back home again?

Would these bright and intelligent litterbugs
Be happy to throw an empty Heineken can
On their dining-room table or walk
Cigarette butts and chewing gum into their carpet?

These streets, roads and laneways,
Beaches, mountain tops, railway carriages and river banks
Belong to me, and to you, part of our world, and theirs' too.
Why such ignorance, laziness and stupidity?
Are people so selfish or lazy that they are incapable
Of walking fifteen feet to the bin?
Society should have very little respect
For those who don't respect society.

But for now, let us give three cheers
And shout BRAVO!
For the unsung heroes of our streets.
Who thanklessly brave the wind and rain
To do an honest days work
In a thankless task that must be done
Again and again - all because-
Some uncaring, selfish idiot who doesn't
Have the intelligence to walk to the bin.