Swans


 

Say No To Capitalism


by Scott Orlovsky

March 29, 2004   

 

we have fishing nets
that can fit 16 Boeing 747s inside them
to strip our oceans of fish
to trap thousands of porpoises and dolphins

we have saws
that buzz down 4,000 year old
Alerce trees in Chile
to turn them into chips
to send to Japan
to make wrapping paper

we have chickens getting bird flu
and cattle getting mad cow
the milk contains bovine growth hormone
and the fish contain high levels of mercury

in the next 15 years
world population will reach
near 20 billion people

capitalism is an engine of eco-destruction
and even though entire planetary systems
are collapsing as I word-process these lines
and the Pentagon predicts abrupt climate changes
governments and corporations will not alter their policies
and billions of people will not admit
that there is a crisis until it is too late

capitalism is the blueprint for collective human suicide
we will consume ourselves to death
and drown in the market's effluent

if we are to survive
we must replace the invisible hand of the market
with the visible hand of planning
say no to capitalism
it does not work!


 
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Poetry on Swans

 

Scott Orlovsky is a World History & Cultures, and an American History teacher at Clifton High School in New Jersey. He has a BA in History from the Johns Hopkins University and a MA in History from the University of Colorado.

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Published March 29, 2004
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