Inscape 04 FINAL - Pasadena City College

K AEL L AL ONDE
Ode to America
America sells America
Fear
it consumes the country
and America sells consumerism
to fill the need to feel
But filler doesn’t feel real
so America stays searching for substance to
sustain
This city belongs to cars and buildings
cell phones and credit cards
fast food and fashion statements
pollution and power
corporations and their corruption
money and movies
reality TV and people
to want to be
Materialism is a virtue here
and I have become just another number to fill
a statistic
So I’ve decided what to do
America I’m going to sue you
for being too full
Broken
C ARA C ORNGOLD
Nothing seems to work anymore in this grand
old house. I grew up here, on this 1920s
estate. And she was once well attended,
serene, and beautiful.
Now, her surface cracked, her color worn, her
trim appears coarse and pitted. Weathered red.
Spanish tiles cling to her wide expanse of
rooftop. A battle against time. Her once
vibrant gardens lie overgrown and brown. Only
the strongest species of plant has survived.
Those not needing human care.
There has been no real mistress of this house
for a very long time.
Inside, the house herself and all her attending
appliances are close to capitulation. The range
top survives with 3 out of 4 of her burners
extinguished. The dryer barely exudes enough
warmth to dry her clothes. The refrigerator
emits a permanent low moan. Neglected for
years.
Upstairs, in the master bathroom, a toilet
stopped functioning. No one remembers when.
She now squats cold and empty, devoid of fluids.
The enormous tiled shower proves equally impotent.
Her white porcelain “hot” and “cold”
knobs, age-old counterparts, have long been
stripped of their duty. They lie amputated and
apart, forgotten on a chair in the corner.
Then there is the Broken Room. When it was my
bedroom, it vibrated with possibility. Ringing
INSCAPE • 50 INSCAPE • 51