Plomb Cerveau

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Plomb Cerveau
by Chas Hansen

The half-life of lead is forever

Elementary.

The Belgians got the lead out of their paints in 1898

We got rid of ours in 1978.

‘Ethyl’ gas, so named to fool.

The sine of rising crimes in the United States

Mirrors our plague of lead.

No reparations, no relief

Only more prisons, and, cops

And narc scum pumping it

Into those already damaged by earlier exposure,

Like there is never too much of a bad thing.

At least Joseph Goebbels had the decency

To murder his wife and six kids.

Not so Hill and Knowlton who

Have plumbed the depths of doubt.

Scientists had careers smashed for the sin

Of showing accurate data or as some call it,

Telling the truth. Whereas, this leading industry showed us what can be

accomplished when we are force fed an ancient bane.

Depraved indifference the very definition of murder and it made true

Heroes of Nixon’s EPA and General Motors

For fuck sakes!

Look over your shoulder, you should be so proud.

When your creations begin to go NKVD on your ass,

One bullet, two brains.

Bit of a mess but real thrift

With your luck less reason brings

Excess profit.

You lead where others fear to tread

Thank you for introducing everyone

to the wonder of a lead planet. 1

1 thought on “Plomb Cerveau

  1. Something to wrap your mind around and suffer its wrapping around your mind. Punning on the word “lead” and other words. The title could be translated “Lead on the Brain.” Lead is a toxic element that stays around and won’t go away, irreducibly bad for us. And the truth is that while industry, politics, and public relations may say they’ve “gotten the lead out,” that is a lie. Maybe paint has been purged of the element, but in this poem it is global: ours is “a lead planet.” Lead stands for the lie itself, the cover up for not getting rid of what keeps profits together with crime on a rising curve.

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