The Wall of More
by james bezerra
86 million barrels of oil
consumed in a day.
4 million barrels of oil
produced in a day.
There’s nothing wrong with oil
except for its growing scarcity.
In fact it’s pretty great black sludge:
high energy return, that’s what it does.
Lots of bang for the buck, but
the bucks and bangs are running out.
Our issue isn’t oil, it’s our
orgiastic paradise of consumption.
How big need our houses be?
Our economy of cheap energy
helps us buy things we don’t need
with money we don’t have.
A barrel holds 42 gallons,
19 and one half go to gas,
the rest ends up in everything else
around the house:
soap
refrigerant
lip stick
paint
shoe polish
golf bags
bearing grease
fishing lures
insecticides
pantyhose and
basketballs
perfume
dice
epoxy
rubbing alcohol
deodorant
fishing boots and
trashbags
roller skates and
aspirin
surf boards
footballs
hand lotion
guitar strings
crayons
fan belts
toothpaste
heart valves
golf balls
cold cream
contact lenses
ice cube trays
mops and
yarn
silly putty
shaving cream
shag carpet
electrical tape
scotch tape
duct tape
ducting
PVC pipes
toilet seats
antiseptic
window caulking
all the other kinds of caulking
the capsule part of gel capsules
floor wax
fishing line
shampoo
fertilizer
every kind of poly-blend fabric
the soles of our shoes
all the other parts of shoes
the plastic case of the computer
nearly all the other parts of the computer
ballet tights
nylon zippers
plastic hangers
that puffy stuff inside throw pillows
frisbees
ear plugs
shot gun shells
children’s kites and
poker chips and
playing cards
diving boards
plastic flower pots
teething rings and
baby blankets
little binkies and
rattles
cotton swabs
latex gloves
latex condoms
prescription bottles
burn cream
Vaseline
chapstick
laxatives
Bactine
cough syrup
milk cartons
tupperware
fabric softener
bendy straws
teflon coated anything
every kind of styrofoam
dish sponges
mouth wash
moisturizer
hair spray
nail polish
bubble bath
Naugahyde
Formica
wallpaper
linoleum
plexiglass
spray paint
vinyl
plywood
propane
brake fluid
flea collars
bubble gum
credit cards
fly swatters
rubber bands
butane
lawn gnomes
decorative flags
fireworks
emergency flares
food dye
artificial flavors
every single thing made of, containing, packaged in, transported by plastic. There is no plastic which isn’t oil.
I don’t mean to complain,
but it starts to seem
excessive, like
too much
speed around a turn,
a flash of light,
a squeal of tires,
the flash of life,
the smokes of brakes
and a wall. A wall lit up
in headlights. A wall
which marks the end
of endless more. A wall
which marks the end
of endless more.
We’re running out of more
and collecting much more
of less. Less money, less promise,
less economy, less future,
less hope, less prosperity. Less oil,
less water, less food.
Less time
to fix this.
Having had more
made me
want more.
But there is no more
anymore.
The Industrial Age is ending.
Our modern age is ending.
This particular American Dream is ending.
We need to find a new one,
quickly.
.
.
.
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