Abstemious

A Poem by Maxwell Ryder

When people use the word sustainable,
I ask them, just what are they abstaining from?
And what is their definition of sustenance?
And what they obtain in trade for being abstemious -
A Sasquatch carbon foot,
Flying red-eyes worldwide;
Then I ask them if they eat hundred-dollar steaks,
Eat candy or chips with palm oil,
Killing orangutans in Borneo,
Who they protest were put in zoos
Because they couldn’t sustain
their waistlines,
And now need more leather and wool, to boot.

© 2018 Maxwell Ryder

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Reviews

Einstein Noodle

sharp and accusatory Max! have not stopped to think about what "sustainable" is ... great word for the day for me "abstemious" thank you for that .. reminds me of a quote from Aristotle: "Moderation in all things" or Oscar Wilde's "Everything in moderation, including moderation." ;) but your theme is more serious than that ..we face all kinds of hypocrisy .. all of us .. i love Orangutans but only enjoy watching them through NatGeo episodes in the wild ... finding some kind of balance seems the trick ... we think we do well in saving a lost species but we don't have the vantage point to judge the value of that ..after all we fight fires and so the natural burns of the forest, that inspire all kinds of positive things, were/are hindered ... and we forget that humans and our actions are also a part of "Nature" ..intricately woven into the fabric of things ... i think you make some very good points .. i find your poem thought provoking and social consciousness sustaining abstaining from gluttony and gaining moral high ground ... but really..... do we? ;) great read for me
E.