Monday, August 1, 2011

They Tried



I'm accustomed to the year three-thousand;
This life seems normal to me.
But, sometimes, I am reminded
Of how life used to be.
I believe that once there were flowers,
And a booming population;
But I have never known anything
But dust and devastation.
We're the End-Of-Time generation;
Procreation stopped long ago;
We know that life is ending,
Though the ending has been slow.
I passed this rusty artifact
As I walked the other day,
And it reminded me of the fact
That it need not have been this way.
It was nearly a thousand years ago
That people realised
That they were living on a planet
Which should have been greatly prized.
But, by then, the time was running short;
The race was nearly run;
Too late they realised that their hope
Lay in the wind and sun.
They footled around with windmills
And other ways and means;
But the urge to quarrel and disagree
Was in everybody's genes.
This rusty piece of technology
Bears witness to human pride;
They never did find the answer.
Oh well, at least they tried.



Very odd! Odd indeed! That a scene so full of colour
Should still look lovely in monochrome when it should look so much duller!
We were at the lake and the sky was blue and the clouds were snowy white
While the colour of the water were changeable and bright.
It was sometimes blue and turquoise and sometimes even mauve,
With flashes of brown and silver! Quite a treasure-trove!
The paddle-boats were gaudy, with red and yellow hues,
Contrasting with the waters ever-changing blues.
Only the trees were constant, still very gaunt and dark,
Softened by Springtime greenery, yet remaining looming, stark.
Take away the colour? Surely nothing would remain!
To show such a scene in monochrome almost went against the grain.
Yet, in black and white, a depth appears, in varying shades of grey,
And I'm once again reminded of a very colourful day.


Kay L. Davies said...

Another thousand years, you think? You are an optimist, Brenda. Very well done.

—Kay, Alberta, Canada

Li said...

This is amzing, I love futuristic stuff!

Maggie said...

Hmm.. I see the prompt led you in the same direction that I took.

Terrific write and let's hope it doesn't happen.

chiccoreal said...

Dear Brenda RR: Great rythming scheme; flows well, melodic! The sad future looms of this "dusty" "artifact". Hope we don't get too off track, but with all the GMF (geneticaly modified food) I sense Dooms day or at least Day of the Triffids all over again! An Love "Odd"; yes, I have had that issue of colourless colour prints when the picture had looked so bright. Indeed the sepia picture is creative too, and is historic and nostalgic. Most Excellent!

kelvin s.m. said...

..gone are those days when the saying ‘Life is Wealth’ is treated not so literally as what people has today in their minds… people continue to create more and more things to widen the value of living these days but sadly it declines even more.. sadly but true.. tnx for the read.


JJ Roa Rodriguez said...

must agree with Kelvin, most have forgotten that lidfe is itself a wealth..

and i love the way you interpret the subject...


Poetry24 said...

They tried, but politicians are always very trying.

Sue J said...

I enjoyed both of these poems. They Tried gives food for thought. Nice Magpie.

The Blog of Bee said...

Your clever poem paints a picture that's frightening and not beyond the realms of possibility. You're probably nor far from the truth - excellent take.

Tumblewords: said...

This deserves world wide reading! Excellent piece. ODD rings so true.

Carrie Van Horn said...

Brenda your poems are always profoundly creative and this! :-)