Sang Yun Jee
Burning, Burying
Billowing black clouds come out from ends
of gleaming metal rods, of cars and things.
The nose picks up the scent
and shrivels up.
To think of lives that are now noxious fumes,
Sulfur, like rotten eggs in smell and sight,
with burnt rubber and plastic in dumps,
Combined with sharp chlorine,
And oily seas.
The senses and the brain cry out with pain.
Just think—in millions of years we may
Ourselves be giving off the acrid scent
of burning gasoline and CO2
and death
But wait, for yet another scent wafts by the nose.
One equally revolting too,
Fake artificial smells, too sweet, too strong,
Fresh pine leaves that just smell too green, too pure,
Roses that seek to cover all the world
With combined forces of a billion bulbs.
The two sides, one refuse and one perfume
Slither across the world in putrid waves.
Sang Yun Jee, otherwise known as Martin, studies in the Philippines as a sophomore in the International School Manila. He wants to use his various experiences to follow the path of English Literature. He is currently the poetry editor for a student-run magazine, The Mckinley Review.
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