I Don't Want To Think About... Poem by Richard Randolph

I don't want to think about how the coffee I drink
was probably picked by children in inhumane conditions,
or how the clothes I'm wearing were probably made in sweat shops,
or how the fruit I eat was probably sprayed with
dangerous fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.
I don't want to think about where the lithium in the batteries I use comes from,
or how damming rivers to create electricity prevents fish from spawning,
or how nuclear power plants create radioactive waste no one wants to talk about.
And I don't want to think about the homeless families sleeping out in the rain,
or the beautiful children who turn to drugs and die of overdoses
because they know no one loves them or cares about them.
I don't want to think about how we let every idiot and his uncle own a gun,
and then ignore the fact that more than 300 people are shot each day in America.
I don't want to think about how my car contributes to global warming, I mean climate change, I mean natural variation, and the government refuses to do anything.
I don't want to think about why we can't pass legislation for a fair minimum wage,
or make sure everyone has decent health care.
I don't want to think about how we elected a president
who was found guilty of 34 felonies and something most of us would call rape.
It's terrible, of course, and horribly stupid, and, well, sad,
but I just don't want to think about it.