Earth is bloated,
bursting its belt,
neglecting all knowledge of gut-brain axis
for cheap fills, fast food,
caramel, candy coating the mind
till mentally ill.
Consume—
gorge,
crave.
Addict planet
enslaved to sweet sugars,
bitter salts,
dodges all faults
for the fatty prison
it won’t burn off.
Indulge—
chew,
gulp.
World weighing down
on buckling knees,
sees in toothpaste-stained mirrors,
the monster it’s morphed into.
Says to itself—
“Lookin’ good.”
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Born and raised in Los Angeles, Michael Roque discovered his love for poetry and prose amid friends on the bleachers of Pasadena City College. Now he currently lives in the Middle East and is being inspired by the world around him. His poems have been published by literary magazines like North Dakota Quarterly, Cholla Needles, The Literary Hatchet and others.