Sunday, May 19, 2013

516 : The Writing on the Wall


Sunday Whirl (Wordle #109) presents a list of words
that we must incorporate in a writing piece.  

The words this week are:  

nebulous, cut, vision, hover, opaque, blazing, torch, slab, 
bleak, crush, timing, touch, breath

The Writing on the Wall
“Growth for the sake of growth
is the ideology of the cancer cell”
–Edward Abbey.

The future’s nebulous, at best,
And rarely well predicted.
When we are looking beyond today
Our vision’s quite restricted.

But still, there are hints of what’s to come
Seen dimly through the opaque haze;
Like Indiana’s blazing torch,
Showing drawings in a cave.

And hovering in the smoky light, 
a slab
With inscriptions cut in stone:

“Here lies the remnants of sapient man
Who breathed his last, alone.
He permitted social policies
Where the powerful crushed the weak,
But once they trashed the sky and land,
Their survival hopes were bleak.
The timing of the tribe’s demise
Was driven on by greed:
The leaders were both out of touch
And committed to their speed.
They could not see the obvious fate
Of growing, unencumbered:
Once the host's resources end
A parasite’s days are numbered.”

Is this what the future holds?
Or can we change our track?
Can we live on this lump of rock
Or will the insects take it back?


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© J Cosmo Newbery 2013
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21 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 19, 2013

    A grim view of things. I do hope the coming generations will take care of the earth better than we are...

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    Replies
    1. Don't know that we can wait that long.

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  2. I fear your last line will be fulfilled! An excellent summation of the political scene, on both sides of the Atlantic; and a good poem into the bargain!

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  3. Apparently it is already the age of the insects, we just haven't noticed.....

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I did worry about that as i wrote it.

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  4. I would love to think that you were being unnecessarily pessimistic. How long have we got? Not as long as soon people would like to think.

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    Replies
    1. Not as long as 'some' people, not soon people. Dyslexic fingers and poor proof-reading. Sorry.

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  5. While I know the truth of this it still freaks me out.To think we bury our heads so deeply just to avoid what we know is true of our role in self destruction. I always feel so impotent to affect the establishment. What do we do?

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  6. Centuries of reading sacred texts as "dominion" and omitting "stewardship". Mankind has a crap attitude, and we deserve to have our credit card cancelled.

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  7. A nice concept in this poem which tells a lot!! Yet so many unanswered questions waiting to be answered!!

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  8. What a timely and pertinent piece. I just feel so sad for my grandchildren who will have to experience a complete change in their lives to survive.

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  9. Is this what the future holds?
    Or can we change our track?

    It gets frightening when the future seems so bleak. Well crafted Cosmo!

    Hank

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  10. Looks like the insects have already begin to dominate...

    I enjoy your poetry for its content as well as its structure. A suggestion? Read this poem aloud and see where you can omit the extra words that affect the rhythm.

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  11. A grim brilliant take on the present/future of the human race and life as we know it.

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  12. This poem resonated with me! I fear the answer to your final question is already written into the future. The bugs will win-insects, viruses and bacteria!

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  13. Yes, we have not proved ourselves very good stewards of Mother Earth, have we? No wonder the bugs are winning! Good poem.

    http://thepoet-tree-house.blogspot.ca/2013/05/a-touch-of-gold.html

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  14. AnonymousMay 21, 2013

    Powerful words I agree their are consequence to our actions and to our refusal to act as well, a lot of people think avoidance circumvents responsibility or that it is somehow less guilty than acting and potentially making a mistake

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  15. My feeling is that the insects will take it back. A superb poem that states what we mainly know already, but makes it fresh and newly compelling - no mean feat. Excellently done.

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  16. J Cosmo, you have some terrific sounds going on here, on a subject which seems to be coming to fruition.

    Pamela

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  17. I've removed my reading glasses!

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