Poem: The Corridors of Power
Nov. 17th, 2018 10:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ng_moonmothThis came out of a title prompt by ysabetwordsmith in this weekend's ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crowdfunding Creative Jam. Welcome to California.
Throughout its existence,
Mankind has sought power
To do things it cannot do unaided.
Surrounded by power
Too mighty and capricious to use with intent,
Mankind has sought knowledge
Of fire, of air, of earth, of water,
To capture some of that power
In a useable form.
To transfer power and knowledge
From where it was confined
To where it can be released,
Mankind has created
Corridors of power:
Created by fire,
Spanning the air,
Tunneling through the earth,
And traveling deep under water.
We believe we have thus tamed it
And bent it to our will --
To drive our machines
And carry our messages
But those corridors
Are more fragile than they appear,
And can be bent
By powers greater than what they contain,
Until the power they carry,
Freed from its shackles,
Bursts into fire
Driven by air
Across the earth
Parched by lack of water
To consume what it once drove
As it consumes the homes and lives
Of those who once
Thought themselves its masters
ysabetwordsmith in this weekend's crowdfunding Creative Jam. Welcome to California.Throughout its existence,
Mankind has sought power
To do things it cannot do unaided.
Surrounded by power
Too mighty and capricious to use with intent,
Mankind has sought knowledge
Of fire, of air, of earth, of water,
To capture some of that power
In a useable form.
To transfer power and knowledge
From where it was confined
To where it can be released,
Mankind has created
Corridors of power:
Created by fire,
Spanning the air,
Tunneling through the earth,
And traveling deep under water.
We believe we have thus tamed it
And bent it to our will --
To drive our machines
And carry our messages
But those corridors
Are more fragile than they appear,
And can be bent
By powers greater than what they contain,
Until the power they carry,
Freed from its shackles,
Bursts into fire
Driven by air
Across the earth
Parched by lack of water
To consume what it once drove
As it consumes the homes and lives
Of those who once
Thought themselves its masters
no subject
Date: 2018-11-17 06:45 pm (UTC)*shudders*
yep.
good poem.
no subject
Date: 2018-11-17 06:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-11-17 07:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-11-18 12:00 am (UTC)Just now, the wind patterns have set up a 200-mile-long chimney extending from the Camp Fire (which, along with the Carr Fire, has made two instances of cognitive dissonance this year when heard on the news). The entire Bay Area is living in it. Stockton has worse air quality than Beiing. And the weather pattern is gridlocked for several more days.
Thank you!
Date: 2018-11-17 08:42 pm (UTC)Also, I love your icon.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2018-11-18 12:12 am (UTC)Thanks. Glad you liked it.
>> Also, I love your icon. <<
Cool! I love it when people get it. And it seemed appropriate for this post, given the behavior and business activities of the people it comments on.