Ginseng and ginkgo

Didn't read this nor rate it, excepting the intro about the gingko biloba tree. Here are some other facts (since that intro aroused my curiosity):
(Quora) ...the asteroid that hit the Earth and terminated the dinosaurs released over 100 million megatons, which is about 100 billion times more powerful than the two nuclear bombs released upon Japan at the end of World War 2! Turns out that impact released energy 10 thousand times the world's nuclear arsenal. (NASA) It keeps memory sharper by increasing blood flow, also contributing to vein and eye health (Mount Sinai). Likely the biggest interesting tidbit is that it is known as a 'living fossil', the Ginkgo biloba is one of the world's oldest living tree species: it was around 350 million years ago (Eden Project). In many tales of Asian mythology, ginkgo biloba leaves represent pure love and eternal commitment. Like the intertwining halves of the Yin-Yang symbol, the two symmetrical, fan-shaped lobes of the ginkgo leaf merge at the petiole as a sign of harmony amidst opposing forces. (Issuu) In China and Japan the ginkgo has deep cultural significance. There it represents longevity and endurance (Tyler Arboretum). Finally, Tradition has it that if you catch a ginkgo leaf as it floats to earth, you'll have good luck, (UNH)
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How neat is that? Your readers can determine which of these apply to this story.

First off, I’m not much of a poetry reader but the title grabbed me. (I never understand half of what ‘poets’ attempt to convey.) A ginseng economy relates to international trade and low-wage countries: China, India and Mexico are examples. An economist by profession, this has a Che Guevara theme. He concluded that socioeconomic inequalities could only be remedied by revolution. If I accurately understand this poem, then I have to say you scored well.

my thoughts, after reading the ‘worrisome’ poem, immediately went to “Wake Up and Smell the Ginseng” kind of like James Carville’s “It’s the economy, stupid,” so for me it worked. It also reminded me of Clinton’s campaign signage which was haiku-like: (a) Change vs. more of the same, (b) The economy, stupid and (c) Don’t forget, health care. ‘Tis people’s futures...’ linked me back to ‘futurologists’ and that I liked. Otherwise, I wholeheartedly agree with MyNecroticSnail. You’ve done it again, Man Ray. Well done. PS You also made me think, “What will happen to me!”

Added after writing: Apologies if this sounds overly harsh. Scenario hit me a bit hard.
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Couldn't even enjoy the sex because of the deception. Seducing someone with lies is in some ways tantamount to rape. If the situation had been reversed, absolutely no one would think she should forgive him, and certainly not so quickly. Her behavior was was despicable and vile. Normally I would have just given something that affected me like this a 1 because it made me sick and I hated it as the rating says, but it was well written enough that I simply couldn't justify less than a 3.
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Needless to say, I didn't see a romance. I saw a manipulative predator meeting with perfect success.
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Also, adulterating food and drink is a very serious crime. Caffeine overdose can be fatal, and there are definitely people who are allergic to Korean ginseng, and there may be some people who are allergic to American ginseng, despite the lack of clinical examples for the latter. They could have put someone in the hospital or morgue. But it's fine because no one died or got hospitalized, and it was for a good cause...right? Again, reverse the sexes. A bunch of men poisoned/drugged a team of women, so they could win a stupid contest. How clever. How ballsy. Inspirational, really.
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And they all went to prison for a very long time.
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You have tremendous skill, but this story left me very very cold. Thankfully I adore some of your other work, so I'll just reread some of that!

Can’t think of dirtier concept than “clean language” when it tries to sanitize endless human suffering; injustice; human ugliest sides at work. So why not call it Ginseng economy? It sounds even nicer than economy in which you become redundant.
The simple repetitive lines echoes the lines of protesters or unemployed or over- employed across the globe and the structure of “traditional” protest poems and protest drama. A brisk strong contrast between the have and have not is made. If you have a problem with that, please write a protest poem for the corporations and those who do their bidding in the government (have not met the genre yet).
The structure in the poem is there not because an elitist poet have decided to appeal to the simple people and agreed to compromise his/her poetic taste while doing it (all complaints you could hear against poetry which seemed to be ‘too recruited to a cause’). Rather, its poetics is 180 degrees different than that of the purposely elusive and multi layered lyrical poem. As Brecht demonstrated, you want to break the Aesthetic Illusion even if it makes us squirm in our seats. The poem does serve a purpose – which is to send a message in the most effective way, and it does not apologize for it. Pure aestheticism exists maybe in the writings of the classicists but we know that art is what managers of museums decide to put in the museums. Which takes us back to politics and power and powerlessness.
Finally, the emblem on the door is reminiscent of the Roman Empire. With the US being the only remaining global power (or is it), no wonder my mind carried me to Gibbon’s monumental work: “the decline and fall of the Roman Empire”. About which Gibbon ominously said: I have described the triumph of barbarism and religion,