The Christmas Locusts

Once a year

around December time,

they are spawned

Triggered by electric heating,

they put on their heavy nylon wings,

and they fly away

Bursting out into the streets in their billions,

they are the Christmas locusts,

ready to devour anything in their path.

Guided by the light reflected from plastic baubles,

they are easy to fascinate and to lure,

but impossible to please

Because they want for the sake of wanting

addicted to being addicted

digitally hypnotized cyber zombies,

as they desperately seek bubble wrap and styrofoam,

to make their cocoons.

To get ready for next year’s pilgrimage,

when they can look for even more meaningless crap

that will make them “happy”

(from Poems for a Planet Running Out of Time)

George is an author, researcher, molecular biologist and food scientist.

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