Publicized

Willy Wonka’s bankrupt.
Mass-producing golden tickets
For free factory tours,
To remind the world
Of the sweetness he provided,
Proved bad business.

From cliff’s edge,
Where the chocolatefall once flowed,
He surveys his entirely edible room,
Hiding teary eyes
Beneath his top hat’s brim.
His cane keeps him standing.

Supersized straws pollute
The sucked-dry basin of the Chocolate River below.
Potholes punctuate the peppermint pavement paths.
They tripped over the marshmallow mushrooms.
The destruction spans wider:
The grazed sweet grass;
The picked cotton candy bushes with licked lollipop sprouts;
The toppled taffy trees with rottened caramel apples;
The spilled sugar cube seeds of smashed pumpkins;
The plowed jelly bean stalks;

And the bitten Oompa Loompas—
Injured/Hospitalized/Consumed.