Big Black Bags

While walking downtown some workers had put big black bags on the sidewalk.

They were continuing to trim the bushes and cut the grass.

So it was evident that the byproduct of their labors is what was in those bags.

Here before me were more silent servants.

Those big packages will soon carry unwanted items far away.

I have used hundreds of those devices over the decades.

I have peeled them one by one from a roll or pulled them from boxes.

Initially they are flat and small.

Then they fill out and transport unwanted things away.

Also I have used them to contain clothes and useful items.

During this season of my life I have been using big bags that are clear.

I have used a box of them that were scented.

So I pondered, “What was this really?”

The bags did not grow on trees or fall out of the sky.

They started as just liquid plastic that was made into this helpful shape.

Clever people made them and got them to me at an affordable price.

Then I wondered, “What would our world be like without such bags?”

My mind does not easily generate a pleasant alternative world view.

I see you there silent servants.