I am a demographic data point
with a good credit rating and a Visa card,
a female, white, middle aged, over-weight,
animal-lover who reliably clicks on videos
of three-legged dogs, wounded pelicans, and/or
deer trapped on thin ice rescued by brave
outdoorsy men in Carhart overalls
who risk all to rescue Bambi’s
great-great-grand-deer from doom.

I am a tree-hugging, bird watching,
liberal Democrat likely to sign
petitions for environmental reform,
reuse plastic bags and bubble wrap,
and save scrap paper for future use
thereby placing me in the target market
for dry detergent sheets and compost bins
and recycled anything.

I am a mathematical construct
comprised of sequential codes,
corollaries and outcomes.
As such, Amazon knows
what I will do long before I do it.
But just what will that be
when all the Fulfillment Centers
are empty, and the rain forests
are reduced to ashes.

Gloria Heffernan is the author of the poetry collection, What the Gratitude List Said to the Bucket List, (New York Quarterly Books), and Exploring Poetry of Presence: A Companion Guide for Readers, Writers and Workshop Facilitators (Back Porch Productions). She has written two chapbooks: Hail to the Symptom (Moonstone Press) and Some of Our Parts (Finishing Line Press). Her work has appeared in over 100 publications including Chautauqua, Columbia Review, Stone Canoe, and Yale University’s The Perch. Gloria teaches at Le Moyne College and the YMCA's Downtown Writers Center in Syracuse, New York.