Pretty Packages Poem by Alessandra Liverani

Glossy, gold, glittering sophisticated boxes
Shining down from their huge, colourful displays
What's inside these pretty packages
Luring, inviting, gloriously ablaze

Flip open the top and peer inside
Nestling identically on the silver foil
Are filter capped pretty white sticks
Regular, virginal, unspoiled

But if you look a little closer
You will see much, much more
Hidden inside these pretty packages
Behind the secret trapdoor

Pain, fear, disappointment, death
Frustration, anger, loss and shame
Disfigurement, poverty and disease
This packaging has a lot to blame