Thursday 27 September 2018

It's Nowt To Do With Me!


Mother and father know best, they always have don’t you know,
feathering their nests with unneeded appliances
they only use once or never take out of the box, so what,
at least they have the power of ‘have’ and keep up with the Jones’s,
although ideally they would be winning that race.

Wealth is relative to your wants and your needs,
but if you have it why not flaunt it, buy this and buy that
whether you need it or not, for when you tire of it,
you can find it a new home at any old landfill. 
(Give it away to those less fortunate than you –
are you kidding - I will not furnish the needs of those
who don’t even bother to try. 
(I’d rather die first, don't you know - freebies won't come easy from me))

My brats are the same with their Game Boy’s and smart phones
which of course need to be replaced at the very least yearly,
and then there’s their clothes that must be designer, must be designer
for the kudos and the power's in the brand don’t you know,
and when they tire of a thing, off to the jolly old landfill it goes.

Today is so wonderfully pleasant for a stressed mum like me
what with disposable nappies that I dress junior in, for I must confess
I feel a little bit queasy at the thought of dropping his shit down the *netty
from one of those awful terry towelling squares.    
And those disposable ones,
I don’t have to wash them when their purpose is done, just drop them in
the unrecyclable bin and off to the landfill they go. 
Isn’t life so wonderfully easy?

You ask if I’m worried that our planet is in meltdown,
well of course I am for whom in their right mind wouldn’t be?
But I can state categorically indeed quite emphatically
that this pollution is not down to me.  I do as I’m asked
when meeting the task of sorting my rubbish into this or that bin,
tossing whatever in into its designated (right colour) receptacle – 
so see I follow all of the rules.
What happens to them when I’ve done what is asked is beyond my control
for, for my part I’ve just followed them damned written rules

And that plastic polluting the seas, well again it’s not just down to me,
for I rarely visit the coast don’t you know. 
So get off your high horse you who think you’re so so earth friendly,
for of course you haven’t seen me watching you arrive home
in your posh four wheel drive with particulates puffing outa its exhaust. 

Ha!

Anna :o]

*Netty – a toilet, Northumberland dialect., also ‘nowt’ a Northern English word for nothing.

Sherry at Real Toads has us writing of Earth’s grief as we watch it empty down the plughole, we pulling out the plug ourselves and above is my take on it.

Of disposable nappies/diapers, do you know that apart from the few biodegradable nappies in the marketplace, the following happens?

"Decomposing disposable nappies emit noxious methane gas. It will take 200 to 500 years for a disposable nappy to decompose, leaving a legacy to your children's grandchildren.
"The production of disposables uses 3.5 times more energy, 8.3 times more non-renewable resources, and 90 times more renewable resources than real nappies.
"They produce 2.3 times more waste water and 60 times more solid waste than real nappies."
WEN goes on to say: "Tributyl tin (TBT), a chemical compound which is known to disrupt sex hormones, has been found in disposable nappies on sale in the UK.

Please see source of this information here.

Image:  Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Author:  Thue

11 comments:

Sherry Blue Sky said...

WOW, Anna! Those facts about "disposable" diapers are horrifying. You and I used cloth, there was no such thing in my world. My granddaughter uses cloth, because she is aware. You have captured the "it's not me" theme so many people tell themselves so perfectly. Thanks so much for adding your voice to the discussion.

Kim M. Russell said...

I enjoyed the use of dialect, Anna, as well as direct address, tags and first-person narrator, which makes your poem very immediate. And it's so true to life!

Vivian Zems said...

I love the sardonic tone of this write. If we're so hell bent on destroying the planet, why not chuck all our unwanted /disposable/out- fashion items in the landfill. As long as WE'RE happy, right? Love it!

brudberg said...

OH yes... it come down to each one of us to do what we can... to use less... drive less... the footprint has to be smaller.

To me this works so well with the voice of that self-justification...

tonispencer said...

Excellent write. I love the sardonic tin in this. Thanks for the factoids. I am always preaching about disposables and how they are killing this eart.

Helen Patrice said...

My daughter has powered her three kids through approximately 2000 disposable nappies, and insisted she didn't even need a packet of cloth nappies for wiping. There are instant wipes for that. And special cloths to catch vomit. The landfill from her kids will be the size of Mt Everest by the time they reach 18.

Jim said...

Nice writing, Anna. Yes, that is our way, to use today and cast tomorrow. Most on our street do recycle and put things they cast off out in the street. A second owner retrieves them before the garbage comes.
..

Margaret said...

...just following the rules (and colored bins). sigh

Martin said...

There's nothing to add. I'm happy that more and more people try to avoid plastics, for instance, but mankind always seems to learn late ...

Jenny Woolf said...

I think disposable nappies should be banned except for people with more than one young child under 3.

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