'Toxic Poem' by Aéngus Murray
This poem cam 4th place in our competition
Note: The poem below is personal, raw and honest. Some people may find it triggering although it is not intended so.
Toxic Poem
Complex Carbohydrates heated above 120
Became acrylamide - crystalised in my mind aged 14
My grandfathers passing comment, something he had read
In my brain- a known carcinogen, plastic compound
Congealed.
My aunts man does not eat bacon she tells me at 16
''Nitrates in the curing process sit like black sludge in your guts forever''
black sludge.
Black sludge that sits there – waiting,
Forever
Aspartame, my grandfather tells me
Is in everything good I want to drink
Every stick of chewing gum I accidentally swallowed as a child
In my cells
I can feel them - see them dividing and dividing
Multiplying, grabbing and pressing on everything
Microscopic, but vicious and intent
Malignant
The cellulose in my vegetarianism cant be broken down
At 23 a book tells me my meals are becoming sugar inside me
Pumping my body full of sugar
My teeth decay and fall out
Rotten
At 30 I put my body in places with nothing man made
The beach, last christmas eve in Spain
The toxicity of my body soaring, mercury in the fish
Human oil spill
Toxic
Alice tells me when she has a bad day
She cooks a nice healthy meal for herself and feels better
My eyes meet hers and I say nothing
Because I do not understand.
Nothing.
Feedback
- terror about eating and fears about their internal self, are powerfully conveyed, with dread.
- absolutely mirrors the complexity of the focus on compounds and chemicals in nutrition
- conveys very well the dangers of messages in the media and the influence this may have on individuals, particularly at a young age.
- very well researched poem on all the chemicals and its perceived impact on the body
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