Me, A Consumer

a poem by Jan Oskar Hansen

My eyes are hard-boiled eggs
With specks of bird-shit on, I’ve
Been window-shopping for two
Whole days, the nearest I get to
Consumerism since I got the sack.
I used to be a happy member of
A society that called me consumer,
A title I was proud of wearing when
I went to the shopping mall and
Bought goods I didn’t really need
But gave me a sense of fulfillment;
Now my life is empty like the petrol
Tank of my car, which they are
Taking away now that I can’t pay
The interest of the bank loan I took
Out to buy my four-wheel drive!
Of course I know that the consumer
Religion doesn’t promise an afterlife,
But who cares as long as my soul sings
In harmony with ringing tills.
Yes my life is empty now, went to
A church in the hope of finding
A meaning with my life, but there
Was this collection box making it
Clear that without cash I can’t get
Nowhere! And anyway, whose
Heard of shopping malls in heaven.