I’m Waiting
I'm waiting for that brave new drug
that fuses nanotech and bioengineering:
a kick-ass, smart vaccine,
resident in lymph and marrow,
replication-capable, mimetic,
artificially intelligent, with ROM
and RAM enough
to sense the body's every need.
Mutations on demand
to pump up serotonin levels,
gobble HIV, psoriasis,
and syphilis, metabolize asbestos,
tars and PCB's. All carcinoma
would be hors d'oeuvres
for its dark appetite.
It couldn't handle trauma, though-
the newest swarms of killer bees
from Glocks and military contraband
would rip us still; Ferraris
wrapped around Black Forest oaks
could pinch us still and bungees, snapped,
would splat us flat as EKG's
at Parkland, New Year's Eve.
We wouldn't give up death
as buzz or aphrodisiac. Just think-
it could be wireless, phoning in our vitals
monthly, faxing tallies of salvations
into profit-swollen HMO's.
Just wait. The future will be grand.
that fuses nanotech and bioengineering:
a kick-ass, smart vaccine,
resident in lymph and marrow,
replication-capable, mimetic,
artificially intelligent, with ROM
and RAM enough
to sense the body's every need.
Mutations on demand
to pump up serotonin levels,
gobble HIV, psoriasis,
and syphilis, metabolize asbestos,
tars and PCB's. All carcinoma
would be hors d'oeuvres
for its dark appetite.
It couldn't handle trauma, though-
the newest swarms of killer bees
from Glocks and military contraband
would rip us still; Ferraris
wrapped around Black Forest oaks
could pinch us still and bungees, snapped,
would splat us flat as EKG's
at Parkland, New Year's Eve.
We wouldn't give up death
as buzz or aphrodisiac. Just think-
it could be wireless, phoning in our vitals
monthly, faxing tallies of salvations
into profit-swollen HMO's.
Just wait. The future will be grand.
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Author's Note
From "Matter and Light, December, 2008
Other stories by Gary Hardaway
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Wow. I so love this. Just the...way all the words flow...like a song. The rhythm is great. *
"All carcinoma
would be hors d'oeuvres
for its dark appetite."
Great, intelligent stuff, Gary.*
wow. This is powerful stuff. I love the 4th verse.
Gary, these techno-nightmare poems of yours always shake me up. The language is fabulous. Ties my hearts in knots.
“We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember, my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future,” --- Ed Wood. But this was not Wooden... Just the opposite, in fact.
Strong work, Gary.
"Mutations on demand
to pump up serotonin levels,
gobble HIV, psoriasis,
and syphilis, metabolize asbestos"
*
Awesome.
Ferraris
wrapped around Black Forest oaks
could pinch us still
Great use of the word "pinch". *
Excellent.*
Powerful. Imaginative. Fave*.
love this, Gary; faved
"...rip us still...pinch us still...splat us flat..."
Yes to this, Gary. *
Do you know Ferlinghetti's "I Am Waiting"?
Such wonderful and diverse responses! I am very pleased.
Bill, I do know "I Am Waiting"- it remains a great guilty pleasure and was scandalous at Bryan Adams HS back in 1968. A gateway drug, for sure.
The last line seems a wry caution. Clever and earnest all around!*
Very nicely done!
you have summed up very well all that i fear most.
Skillfully crafted. *
I can wait on the synthetic metamorphosis.
Fave, Gary. I love the complexity of your work.
"We wouldn't give death
As buzz or aphrodisiac."
Hard to read " ...splat us flat as EKGs at Parkland," without thinking of 11/22/63.
Sorry. "give UP death" Goddamned iPad with stylus.
Stellar writing, Gary. Love the rhythm and flow. *
Sara- thank you very much.
Darryl, thank you for your response. I have enjoyed your recent postings very much.
Thank you for your reading and commentary, Tantra. I remember preferring Aldous Huxley's vision of the future to that of George Orwell. Our history is that of our relationship to our own technological cleverness, it seems.
J. Mykell, the future never asks our opinions, damn it.
David- I hadn't even thought about Kennedy at Parkland. Thank you. Being essentially a native Dallasite, I have a blind spot where that sad November is concerned. I hear that the ER at Parkland is a very busy place on New Years Eve and any other time when massive quantities of alcohol are customarily ingested.
Foster, thank you for you kindness toward this. I am grateful.
There's probably an app for that. *
There may be irritation and swelling at the injection site, however. Beate, thanks for reading and commenting. I appreciate both.
a brave new world awaits your arrival*
Thank you, Jane. I appreciate your response to this.
Frightening and thrilling all at once.
Futuristic (whatever that means) but the line about trauma keeps it from feeling detached.*
Thak you, DJ and Amanda, for reading and the kind commentary.
I wonder how long before this happens....
Great last line. You sustain the electricity throughout. So superior to the bloodless stuff in the New Yorker these days.
Thanks for your comment on "Progresso."
Thanks, Ginnah.
love that ominous last line in addition to the great images. "*"
Thank yo, Kyle