Amazing poem..I often think these thoughts:::
Allow me to add the following verse. I am reasonable certain the new president will be briefed on such unpleasant possibilities – and some much worse – as he settles in and finds that Franklin was uncannily prescient when he observed that if we do not hang together, most certainly we all will hang separately.
GWOT: When the Grid Goes Down
Here we sit with Vista wide,
Or with Mac Leopard at one side,
And networks on the other there;
We hardly have to leave the chair
Except to paddle down the hall
To eat or answer Nature’s call.
I ask you this: what happens when
The voltage fails – as evil men
Make good their hateful, promised words
To fell our modern house of cards?
We hurry back to check the screen,
But now there’s nothing to be seen.
Think of it! How great the change
Will be for us; how wholly strange
To have no power in the hall,
Or up the stairs, none at all,
To cool the air or heat the place,
Or in abundance, freely waste.
The car still starts – but that will pass –
Eventually, its precious gas
Will be consumed – the tank run dry,
Where would be go? I wonder why –
To fight for fuel; to start, then stop?
The malls are dark, we cannot shop!
One stares long at the empty sink;
The water’s off and we can’t drink
Without the pump we never saw,
Nor thought much of it then – before.
It does not drip – nor toilet flush,
The pressure gone, there is no gush.
So,d if a fire finds us here,
No fireman’s hose will come to bear
Upon it – quickly knock it down,
Without a main, flames eat the town –
The first responders will not know
To which disaster they ought go.
In several days (now, don’t you think?)
All but you and I will stink,
For, in the balance, is it soap
We sacrifice – Or, is it hope?
With no radio and no TV
Who will hawk for SUVs?
Nighttime comes – no porch lights gleam,
To welcome friends; the dark now seems
So Unromantic – worrisome
Which is safer? Here or home?
As stars provide the only light,
I find I’ve grown afraid of night.
We learn with speed that there are some
Who, in this darkness, feel at home –
And for that reason, we avoid
Aloneness – Safety’s in a crowd.
Or is it? Some work better when the day;
Is gone, and sunrise hours away.
Somewhere in an ancient dhow
A “proceed order” flashes now,
And zealots gather up their kit
To go and raise some hell with it.
With perfect faith – no fear to bleed,
They’ve all the power that they need.
Steve
William Dare 