180000
4
From the birthing pains of creation ...
What ingenious devices we have employed
Which were made to purpose
Of the best materials we could find
Of what was either rare and unique
Or plentiful and cheap ...yet sturdy
Things often of great beauty and convenience
...valued highly by the prospective owners
By artistic individuals and craftsmen
Making every effort to make it last
Although, the idea was to be duplicated
Built for a lifetime commitment to a task
Each creation made ...as a one of
Perhaps even passed down as a gift
To drift revered through generations
As a sign of love and of respect
But somewhere along the way
Some knockoffs were made to last a day
To be throw away rather than kept
Profit became a motivation to deliver
Faster, cheaper ...if lost, then no regrets
We were transformed and came to be
A disposable society and soon resigned to
The appearance of finery ...made cheap
Enough for all ...to toss away
At the end of the day
It may be what comes to be
Until we no longer care
Used to everything coming fast...
Till our plastic lives are so full of trash
And our sad excuses for living pile up so deep
We fall into the ocean of our garbage
And we drown
Perhaps 10,000 years later
When nobody is left ...hanging around
Life will get a new spark
...become new again
And follow natures plan
This time
Someday further along perhaps ...
The ancient bones of our extinct culture
will be discovered by an advanced alien race
An autopsy will be performed ...upon our civilization
Our dirty secrets will be uncovered
Perhaps the question will be asked
Why such gross excesses in materials ...had been allowed
In every facet of their lives
Then they will know the truth about
Why we didn’t last
We consumed our world out of existence
Even when ...undoubtedly the cues were obvious
We possessed sufficient intellect ...to know
What was happening all around ourselves
But were afraid or to lazy to ask
...everyone to stop
Wasting our lives
With things
that will not
... last
C2
