I can’t even go into Walmart

Without some extraterrestrial type

Looking or saying something

That jumps on my amygdala,

And bugs me for hours.

And I can’t go into Walgreens

Without passing a surly associate

Who doesn’t want to be there,

Without hearing a song from the seventies

That brings back feelings

Of being trapped in an elevator

(With an associate from Walgreens)

And I can’t go into Starbucks

Without knowing I’m being ripped off,

But nevertheless hand over the bucks

To the grumpy  barista,

And take the gruesome coffee

Around Target,

As finally I’ve made up my mind

To look at last

For a Keurig machine

So I don’t have to put myself through this bitter hell

Every day.

And I can’t go to a restaurant

Without some dopey brat

Squealing

As her intellectually challenged

Guardians

Laugh and look around

To see if we’re enjoying their kids

As much as they are.

Yet I reserve my tears for the movies,

The cinema that died

Such a long time ago.

It’s not just Britney

Texting throughout the film

Or the grossly overweight pensioners

Jamming popcorn into their mouths.

It’s what these actors

Have done to our people,

Brought a darkness instead of light

Into their lives.

Spewed propaganda in between takes,

Because they can.

And soured

The joy and happiness

We often found,

In years gone by,

When fantasy was the escape

We wanted, and needed, at times.

Now there is no escape,

Or even a reality,

It’s now all  one and the same.

Categories: Blog, Creative writing, Poetry, politics

Tags: actors, movies, starbucks, walgreens, walmart