Spectating A Spectacle
We erect glass towers that yell;
Members only—
where hollow-voiced CEOs chant, "Growth!"
while the orchestra’s cellos
splinter into eviction notices.
We farm gold fields of grain,
enough to feed every starving mouth—
trade them with rigged hands
while the stock market’s violin sobs;
Famine in D Minor.
We build pumps to bleed the earth
from its dinosaur veins—
while somewhere, a seal pup
pirouettes an accidental shift
into a tar-black swan.
We wire the world in binary,
hoard ghost coins in digital clouds,
as robot billionaires birth AIs—
while the uninsured rest in peace
as @[deleted] profiles.
We launch satellites that murmur,
"turn left in 100 metres"
to cure our chronic lostness—
while they blow kisses as coordinates
to guided missiles.
Oak trees unfurl their shade
like a borderless currency,
roots chasing freedom, not profit—
while their branches draft leases
for birds, in rent-free leaves.
Lush forests share their berries,
like laughter among tails and beaks,
with no barcode on the packaging—
while the wind conducts symphonies
of crescendo mating calls.
Relentless tides arrive each day,
licking life clean without invoices—
while scouring sea-salt hands
stitch the split sky in colour
with rainbow threads.
Bountiful rains code the earth,
in encrypted delugescript,
while the soil deciphers its input—
a treasure without a toll
or discriminating logins.
Migrating birds etch their flight plans
into the wind’s muscle memory—
while an ancient algorithm guides
their path with no coordinates,
toward radiant warmth.
(Continued in the comments)
My offering for this week's inspirational themes of #Spectating and #Spectacle.
Thank you @rfsmith.bsky.social for hosting #PromptCombo and thank you @alanparry83.bsky.social and @brokenspinearts.bsky.social for hosting #PoemsAbout
Feedback more than welcome.