The trout up-chucked four small pieces of pink

plastic before giving up the ghost in

the shallows of a stream

flowing through town. The dog romping through

the sand in pursuit of a Frisbee stepped

on a hypodermic needle,

was taken to the vet for blood poisoning ultimately

losing the paw but saving the leg. The

whale tried to flap its fins

but the fishing line entwining its body held the fins

flat as the whale sank to the bottom and

drowned. Plastic’s progenitor

spills into the now diseased lungs of dolphin in the Gulf

and sea turtles search for a home they can’t

see beneath the sludge. McGuire: “I

want to say one word to you. Just one word.”

Benjamin: “Yes, sir.” Mr. McGuire:

“Are you listening?”

Benjamin: “Yes, I am.” Mr. McGuire: “Plastics.”

Benjamin: “Exactly how do you mean?”

Mr. McGuire: “There’s a great

future in plastics. Think about it.

Will you think about it?”