An IKEA Guilt Trip

IKEA couch calls

to tired legs

the checkout line

moves forward without me

shoulder sloped from

the iconic blue bag

stuffed with:

chocolate

candles

linens

under-bed storage bags for excess winter quilts

lingonberry jam

useful things. wanted things. needed things?

of course not

so little is

the tug,

often a turbulent mental undertow,

of wanting MORE

so few resist to any discernible degree

certainly not me

certainly not today

a tv on the wall speaks in a newsreel loop

urges sustainability:

dwindling resources

unsustainable consumption

rapid climate change

admonishes soothingly:

…all play our part. A world without waste.

this message echoes off warehouse walls

boxes shelved to the ceiling

shipped by boat then by rail then by truck

just so I can have a taste of Sweden

does IKEA want me to join the checkout line or

return all my certainly "not needed” items made from dwindling resources

and do my part to save the planet

I am confused.

I am amused.

as a self-conscious consumer in an economy-driven world,

I have not yet lost my recognition for the ridiculous