CONCRETE AND PLASTIC Poem by Ignatius T. Mabasa

I miss the open air
In the open fields.
I miss the stretching space
That was usurped,
By high-rise glass buildings.

I see ashen street kids
Playing and fighting
For an inflated used condom.
"Strong, dependable and
Can hold up to 3 litres of water".

I look around me
For the coloured butterfly
And the soaring eagle,
But the city has created
Urban modern birds.
The candy eating pigeon
The hamburger-munching crow.

I miss the human-being
In all this concrete and plastic
Where robots and computers
Professors and talk-show hosts
Telemarketers and experts
Tell me what is best for me
Even if they don't know me.