Cogs In A Machine

[LongLiveLife]

Those of you who follow me on Tumblr either will or will have already seen this. Idk, I felt inspired to make a poem about science and shit.


When we were cavemen life was simple.
Simplicity is always happy.

Then we burned fires that lit the road to intellect and innovation—
a path of pride and regret.
In fire we conjured protection from pathogens and predators,
ignited tribal conflagrations that incinerated danger,
from which, like the phoenix, rose humanity from the ashes.

But then we cast bricks that built walls and borders.
We alienated ourselves from friends.
Formed division after division,
made innumerable islands of society,
and grow our severances deeper with time.

And though cars and trains and aeroplanes came after,
and though we built bridges to connect,
humanity remains divided
in soul, in spirit, in mind.

On turn the wheels of mortality;
we propel ourselves to our doom.
We tread the path of life with the unstoppable momentum of a tank.

In place of carnivores we have carcinogens—
malignant fumes and molecules that bring death.
And from the same fires that brought us knowledge,
we created carbon unrest.

We are not invincible; nature preys on us still.

How could humans hope to change
the turning cogs in a machine that forever stays the same?

 

[Solar]

The bulk of the poem, I felt, was nothing really special but it really felt like leading up to the emotional delivery of the last two lines which I felt were quite powerful.

 

[Professor Ven]

I thought it was beautiful and delicious and on-topic and gah! but who am I to think such silly things :3

 

[King Sora X]

Great build up, and the last two lines was a great closer.

 

[LongLiveLife]

Thanks, everyone, for reading. I really didn't expect a response of any kind, this poem appealing to a niche market and all. But yeah, I actually agree with Sunny on this one. Don't get me wrong; I loved every second writing it, but it's all sort of just meh to read until you get to the closer. Still, my favorite line comes before that: 'In place of carnivores we have carcinogens'.

Those of you studying Biology should appreciate the allusion to reproductive isolation in the third stanza. Speciation is another cog I think we can't stop.