I live with an abundance
of ignorance big as a blue whale,
particular as zooplankton,
a monstrous failing, blind
to the impact of human hubris.

One example, the many millions
of plastic straws in the ocean.
My straw might be the one
stuck in a seagull's craw.

Straws wait in warehouses,
hide in the holds of container ships,
lurk in the trailer truck parked
behind every supermarket.

What's on hand--do we burn it,
bury it, or just say sorry
to the choking sea turtle?

Each single-use plastic straw
is a 200-year #5 polypropylene
sin. My act of contrition--
"Water, no ice, no straw."