Why You Feel Empty (Spoiler: You Are) — Poem
Playing a recording of a favorite song
something in me is saying
Someday you (humans) will not have the luxury
of wasting precious electric power
on frivolous activities you take for granted
Okay, this voice speaks often
when I listen to the radio
or play music at home
And I don’t like it
I want to pretend there’s nothing to worry about
All will remain as it has been
I will listen to my favorite songs
No great sea of catastrophes will overtake
this world and wash away
the pretty baubles and shiny toys
I’ve become attached to
But that voice keeps telling me
You will need to make your own music
as your ancestors did
You will need to keep the songs
in your own body
You will need to learn
You will need to remember
You will need to create
in ways you (humans) have forgotten
You have placed too much of your knowledge
into machines
You must learn to carry more inside yourself
You must increase your capacity
to bear the things of value
which must be preserved
when your machines are broken
This is why you feel empty now:
Because you are.
You are not holding and carrying
in your body
the great and important things
which must not be lost
