Future Imperfect, a Jeremiad
Before I die, in 2026, I will see
the collapse of the twenty-first century
and the birth of a long, dark age
where the wealthy will be eaten by the poor
and the poor will be eaten by disease
and the inevitable factions and fissures
natural among the humans will shrink
the living further and further.
I will witness only the first few failings-
the power grid, the information grid,
the networks of water, the networks of government,
the networks of justice, law, and trash collection.
After that, our numbers will fall
from 7 billion, to 5 billion, to two billion,
to maybe 200 million. Within fifty years
of 2016, New York will be abandoned,
London a smelly swamp decorated by ruins,
Paris a black market meeting place,
Miami a memory, and Moscow
a ghost town, deadly with radiation.
We might survive, an ignorant, widespread
trace of nomads, incapable of calculus,
incapable of flight. At that point,
the signals from afar that we awaited
and searched for among the stars
for decades, will arrive, unheard,
unwitnessed, among the feeble, illiterate tribes.
the collapse of the twenty-first century
and the birth of a long, dark age
where the wealthy will be eaten by the poor
and the poor will be eaten by disease
and the inevitable factions and fissures
natural among the humans will shrink
the living further and further.
I will witness only the first few failings-
the power grid, the information grid,
the networks of water, the networks of government,
the networks of justice, law, and trash collection.
After that, our numbers will fall
from 7 billion, to 5 billion, to two billion,
to maybe 200 million. Within fifty years
of 2016, New York will be abandoned,
London a smelly swamp decorated by ruins,
Paris a black market meeting place,
Miami a memory, and Moscow
a ghost town, deadly with radiation.
We might survive, an ignorant, widespread
trace of nomads, incapable of calculus,
incapable of flight. At that point,
the signals from afar that we awaited
and searched for among the stars
for decades, will arrive, unheard,
unwitnessed, among the feeble, illiterate tribes.
I hope you're wrong, but fear you may be correct.
At least you're optimistic about your own lifespan--if that's a good thing. Maybe some genius will come along to save us--an anti-greed molecule, maybe. *
You scare me.
***where the wealthy will be eaten by the poor
and the poor will be eaten by disease
Thank you, Steve.
Thank you, Matt.
Thank you, Beate.
Thank you, Nonnie.
"the signals from afar that we awaited
and searched for among the stars
for decades, will arrive, unheard,
unwitnessed, among the feeble, illiterate tribes."
Dark and powerful. I recently watched The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). This poem could function as a monologue at the film's ending - especially your concluding stanzas. The poem is different in many ways, of course, but there's a similar atmosphere at work.
Well, now that you predicted it, it won't come true. Whew!
Prophecy is my favorite poetry.
Ever read "Darkness" by Lord Byron?
*
Zager and Evans are reading this going "fuck - wish we'd thought of that!" ;) Great piece - thoroughly enjoyed.
Thank you, Sam.
Thank you, Bill.
Thank you, Neil.
"feeble, illiterate tribes", hate to sound like a pessimist, but that's now.
Thank you, Kitty.
*, Gary. A dire forecast, elegantly told.
Thank you, David.
Sad but true.*
Thank you, Amanda.
Stark and powerful.
I especially liked
'where the wealthy will be eaten by the poor
and the poor will be eaten by disease'
and your 'network' repetitions, and the sombre fatalistic tone of the whole poem.
Thank you, Ellie.
It's valuable to look at our chaotic world from many perspectives.*
Thank you, Tim.
Wow, moe creepy and freightening than "By the Waters of Babylon" which may come true before your prediction, but both are on our minds. Excellent, Gary.*
Thank you, Daniel.