When you work in food reclamation,
You understand what waste is:
Crates of brown bananas, simply thrown away;
On the shelf, then in the trash,
Value gone within a day.
Imagine the lost banana bread.
When you work in unemployment,
You understand what waste is:
Uni grads in coffee shops, but only to intern;
While finding their artistic voice,
It’s either earn or learn.
Imagine the lost esteem.
When you work in a book store,
You understand what waste is:
Books sent back to be repulped;
Or classics slowly growing dust,
Unwanted, and unloved.
Imagine the lost discoveries.
When you work in mental health,
You understand what waste is:
Students falling through the cracks, struggling alone;
Dragged down slowly, day by day,
Or trapped wherever thrown.
Imagine the lost potential.
When you work in an op shop,
You understand what waste is:
Bags of rags outselling shirts;
Or untouched racks like haunted groves,
Silent and unmoving.
Imagine the lost merch.
Inklings
To see more from the QUT Inklings and to get involved, find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/InklingsSociety/