‘It makes no difference’, you say to me
As you slurp your cola with a plastic straw.
Tugging and pulling, an oil spill into an ocean,
As the dark effervescent liquid invades your mouth.

I watch your attempt to suck out every drop,
Carrying on trying when there is nothing left. 
Because lids and straws create the illusion
that there’s always more waiting on the other side.

More to enjoy and more to consume,
When in actual fact, there is nothing left.
You’ve already drained it to the very last drop.
How fitting, I think as I look back into your eyes.

‘Why does it matter what I do anyway?
Surely one person can’t change the world?’
But the guilt is clearly written in your eyes,
It’s just an awkward truth you’d rather not touch.

You know what…perhaps you are right;
Maybe one person can’t change the whole world.
But let me tell you what one person can do
And then maybe you’ll see it from a different perspective.

One person’s straw can suffocate a turtle.
One person’s shopping bag is enough to kill a whale
One person’s fishing net can strangle a bird.
One person’s frisbee can starve a seal.

Innocent plastic can be a poison and a weapon.
Because straws like yours, they carry on living.
A continuous cruel cycle of strangulation and starvation,
The straws carry on murdering again and again.

So please don’t tell me that it makes no difference
Or that it is too hard for you to even try,
When there are paper straws, bags for life, and wooden cutlery
Which will all contribute positively to the world we live in.

And of course I know it’s not entirely your fault;
You took what you were given,
And the coffee shop has let you down.
But please don’t be afraid to place the straw to the side.

Without your voice the suffering will continue,
With your voice, the message can be spread.

It makes all the difference in the world.

~ Anna