If you find yourself
wandering and delirious
in New Mexico
approaching the landfill
near the town of Alamogordo
and you rue your judgment
because that imagined oasis
on second glance
is not as such
maybe you were right
the first time.
No it's not water
(which only
comes in bottles anyway)
but a truckload
of Atari's abandoned
"E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial"
video game from 1983
of which the company
was forced to dispose
during that year's
"video game crash"
after having spent millions
to get the rights from Spielberg.
Those who actually played it
would remember it
as one of the worst titles
of all time
but you could finagle
a few dollars from nostalgic gamers
with "ironic" collections
of terrible vintage stuff.
A desperate venture
to be sure
but a bit more moral
than going into meth.
This poem © 2014 Emily Cooper.
