Polyatide (#PlanetOrPlastic)

Polyatide

Everyone has a story. Some are more interesting than others. Some are long. Some are short. Some are sad. Some are happy.

"What's your story?" I ask as an empty ink cartridge floats by me.

"Meh!" he replies.

That wasn't very friendly, I think.

I spot a clear plastic wrapper coming my way.

"What's your story?" I ask.

"I was wrapped around a slice of cheese in Vermont, the cheese was taken out and put on a sandwich in Texas, and then I ended up in a dumpster. The wind caught me and I flew into a street. When it rained, I washed down a sewer drain. I went from stream to river, then a bigger river, and an even bigger river, which lead me here."

Stories have always fascinated me. One time I came across a baby bottle. She said she had provided nourishment to countless small humans in a place called a Daycare Center. What a full life she had! She had so many experiences to share. She was proud of her life of service.

Then there was the time I met something called a compact disc, CD for short. He bragged that he contained the greatest hits of the 90's. I said I'd never heard of such a thing and he must've thought I was being sarcastic because he became very angry after that.

I have made so many friends! But lately they're stories are getting shorter, and shorter still. I like the stories those pretty red cups tell about parties they've been to. But each one will tell you the same story over and over again because he or she was only at one party.

Then there's the Styrofoam fast-food cups. They talk so fast you have to ask them to repeat themselves. Some of them even have a Southern drawl, like the mega-thirsty I met from Arkansas. He said he had been full of Mountain Dew. But after about twenty minutes, he was tossed out the window of a motorized vehicle he called a truck, still half-full. He felt confused about this. Had the soda failed or was it his fault?

I feel a certain kinship to beverage containers. At one time, I held together six cans of beer. No one ever wants to hear my story because it's boring. Someone drank the beer all alone, on a beach in North Carolina. I laid there on the beach with my human, who seemed very unhappy. I'm not sure if the beer helped him or not, but I know I was useless to him.

A few days ago, some playful dolphins were swimming around me and some other plastic objects. I was stuck on one of their noses and he hasn't been able to get me off. I wonder what will happen to him. How can he eat if he can't even open his mouth? What am I supposed to do? I never wanted to hurt anyone.