Our Daily Bread ©

Running in the gutters,
blowing in the breeze,
on the fly that flutters by,
covering the trees.
Taste it in the water,
smell it in the air'
with lavish generosity,
a thing we can all share.

A gift from Captain industry,
when mixed with SO₂ ,
Laughing gas a cocktail makes
for her, for me, for you.
Acidic rain they call it-
sounds quite ominous.
But is it really all that bad?
I'm sure there's things much worse.

Take for example lack of ozone,
layer stripped away,
chloro-fluoro-carbon zapped-
a tan in just a day.
A time-bomb on your kitchen shelf
and in your coiffure spray.
Not much good when your hair falls out
from the radiation ray.

Best to wear a wetsuit,
go for a swim instead,
in among the E-Coli;
develop pain in head.
Salicylic acid fix,
Voila, pain has gone.
"Not a problem then!" says you,
"I'll see another dawn."

Fever shoots up in the night:
Hepatitis A,
along with other ailments
you picked up from the bay.
Was it just the toxic waste
or the mercury
you got into your system
from the fish you had for tea?

Doctor checks you over
recommends a cure.
"Liver transplants are the go,
that'll fix you, I feel sure.
And, just a thought, to chase that lot,
to help you in recoup,
fresh vegies lashed with DDT
in a cholesterol bowl of soup."

(Oh! And don't forget the bread.)