End of the day

To reverse the warming
they invented

the right to pollute
and sold it

back and forth
between themselves

they called it cap and trade
like a fifties stand-up team

turned out nature
didn't understand money



To die for

They started appearing
at bus stops
in Guatemala City
a year ago
high def photos
encased in glass

A pale woman
sprawled on a divan
an arm and leg
flung to the floor
in the moment
of death
sateen red
high heeled shoe
half on half off
capping the toes

Another frames
a woman's feet
pointing up
from the end
of a table
stainless steel
thin white ankles
disappearing into
tropical blossom pumps
open toed with a bow
death tag hanging
in the air

Each with the words
in white letters
Est´n de muerte
MD te entiende
They are to die for
MD understands you

Created by
Ogilvy Worldwide
for local purveyor MD
to increase market share
in Guatemala a country
of Mayans
where the murder rate
of young women
is the highest in the world
outside Russia



Foreign matter

Sunk in his recliner
thumbing the remote
beating the bushes of hell

In search of his son
blown to atoms in Fallujah
during a commercial break

One American in five
believes the Sun
revolves around the Earth

Hot Pockets recalled
due to the presence
of foreign matter



About the author:
Doug Payne lives in the Adirondacks.

© 2011 Word Riot