“Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes”

“Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes”(Ferlinghetti) was written Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1979. The poem explores the contrast between “Two Scavengers in Truck”(Ferlinghetti) and “Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes”(Ferlinghetti). This contrast is linked to the theme of the poem which is showing the gap between the rich and the poor.  The poem also explores the nature of US democracy and how it’s affecting the poor.

The poem has 5 stanzas with varying lengths. The poetic voice is conversation and informal mainly because the stanzas are of uneven lengths and there is no meter. The poetic voice is acting as a bystander watching the two scavengers and the two people. The poetic voice is third person and this allows for the metaphors like the “small gulf”(Ferlinghetti) to make sense. The structure of the poem allows it to be rather more a conversation/story rather than an actual poem.