Summary

The text is a poem inspired by the art of Kurt Schwitters, reflecting on the theme of consumerism and its impact on the environment.

Abstract

The poem presents a collage of various objects, such as a tram ticket, a button, and a shoe, which are juxtaposed with the idea of waste and pollution. The poem suggests that our consumption habits are leading to a suffocation of the land and the environment, with the accumulation of stuff causing harm to our bodies and the planet. The poem also critiques the power structures that perpetuate this cycle of consumption, suggesting that if we stop buying and throwing away things, we can break this cycle and achieve peace in our time.

Opinions

The poem reflects a critical view of consumerism and its impact on the environment.
The poem suggests that our consumption habits are causing harm to our bodies and the planet.
The poem critiques the power structures that perpetuate the cycle of consumption.
The poem suggests that we can break this cycle by stopping our buying and throwing away habits.
The poem suggests that achieving peace in our time is possible if we walk the line and stop being scared.

Collaged Elements — Kurt Schwitters

A load of rubbish

Here’s a tram ticket — stamped into the dirty dust.

Here’s a button, attached to a scrap of serge,

Airforce Blue — next to an abandoned shoe…

Memories after the purge.

The detritus of terror — a nod to negation.

(Pull back to focus on a lone, blown plastic bag

bobbing impotently against sheet metal

helpless in the wind.)

It’s all a load of rubbish -

stuff — in the end.

Suffusing our landfill lungs with poison

as we gladly offer them up for storage — the stuff of dreams…

Too many humans — too much stuff.

Time to get real — call their bluff?

If we stop buying, to throw away -

Our lives won’t end — it’ll be OK!

If we stop greasing the wheels of power,

They’ll grind to a halt — life will be slower -

a small price to pay for peace in our time.

Don’t be scared — it’ll work out fine!

Here’s the blue shoe — chosen to compliment an outfit.

Or, maybe, to fit a snug bunion, comfortably,

so that running for the tram is easy -

the wool jacket fixed firmly with large buttons?

Now, just so much debris

recycled into art; broken down into methane,

rotted eventually, millennia later,

into the crude that started the fight in the first place.

Too many humans — too much stuff -

Time to get real — call their bluff?

If we stop buying, to throw away -

Our lives won’t end — it’ll be OK!

If we stop greasing the wheels of power,

They’ll grind to a halt — life will be slower -

a small price to pay for peace in our time.

Don’t be scared — let’s walk that line!

Inspired by an article on the art of Kurt Schwitters by Hal Foster in the London Review of Books

Hal Foster · LRB