my carbon footprint

my carbon footprint
is very small
you’d hardly notice it at all
barely bigger than a toe
well a couple toes at most

i don’t mean to boast
or mention this to brag
global warming is a drag
and must be addressed

circumstances being what they are
living in manhattan
i haven’t owned a car
for over thirty years

so if i were to leave the lights on
for the rest of my days
it would barely raise
the outline of my carbon footprint
to include one more little piggy

 but i’m not an energy glutton

i do turn off the lights
i don’t flush every time i pee
forgive me
if that’s too much info

you’d rather not know
but if everyone followed suit
enough water would be saved
that certain droughts
would be nearly moot

 and i recycle

i print new drafts
on the back of old
refill water bottles
separate trash

i stash plastic supermarket bags
when i forget to bring ones made of cloth
and use them for garbage
instead of buying new

because i do make some small effort
at eco-consciousness
perhaps you will forgive
my occasional lapse

like dimmer switches
and fluorescent bulbs
few things are more aesthetically offensive
than the latter
which simply do not flatter

 i’m sorry
but lighting is everything
and harsh and bright
is downright cruel

 so maybe i’m a wasteful brat
but i can’t
i won’t
give up the reostat

on multiple fixtures in the place
’cause my deteriorating face
just can’t take
unadjusted illumination

and if that’s an abomination
more than an inconvenient truth
please remember
my carbon footprint is very small
and i’m really not that bad at all