Plastic Queen

A queen of unread poetry
scribbled within the white spaces of old newspapers.
She collected plastic from garbage and tiny pieces of discarded pencils.
Her bright eyes turned yellow, reading anything
she could under kerosene-lit lamp.
A fire burning inside her heart
wasn’t enough to light-up her home between roads.

She barely got enough sleep.
Since she was fond of dreaming with open eyes
laying under the bare, vast sky,
as expensive cars zipped by,
she kept wishing on falling stars.
If given a chance, she’d study hard
and be an astronaut.

A queen of rock-solid will and bullet-proof wisdom.
She collected garbage and studied politics from old books and newspapers.
A pack of books she’s written with discarded pencils.
And is stepping into the assembly for a plastic-free city.
Her dream of becoming an astronaut,
she realized, wasn’t as important
as saving the planet.

She barely gets enough sleep.