A Systems Fail

By Cliff Lake

A Systems Fail

 

It was going insane.

Parts of it knew,

O yes,

Parts of it knew.

It sent out warnings but –

The ancient imperative:

Feed,

Feed,

FEED!

 

Systems were failing.

Slowly at first,

But with gathering intensity,

And then great frequency.

Alarms were sounded but -

The ancient imperative:

Breed,

Breed,

BREED!

 

It was falling apart.

Resources were used unevenly,

Components were in conflict,

Corrosions were caused by its operations.

Sirens were activated but –

The ancient imperative:

Greed,

Greed,

GREED!

 

Its end was not swift,

But it was violent.

It ground itself down until,

Its apparatus broke apart,

Then scattered.

 

One hundred years

After the last of the fires had burned out,

A hunter saw a shiny object.

Removing it from the soil he saw:

Four circles joined and beneath them,

Aud

“More junk”, he thought,

And cast it aside.

One cannot eat metal.

 

Cliff Lake 3/21/2023

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2023

 

 

 

Location: Dalton, MA, USA

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