What will we do?
What will we do?
What will we do
When the last car dies
And the last bus runs out of fuel?
When the last phone goes dead
And the last radio crackles and falls silent?
When the last tv flickers off
And the last dvd is broken?
When the grid goes down
And all the distractions end?
Perhaps, perhaps, we shall leave
Our stifling, confining, limiting abodes
And go across the hall or the dead concrete jungle
To knock on a neighbor’s door
Perhaps we shall say ‘Hi, how are you?
I do not know you, but maybe we could sit and chat?’
Perhaps the neighbor will say ‘I suppose,
But I was just about to have dinner. It’s just rice,
But at least it’s something.’
And maybe we shall say ‘I have some beans,
How about we eat together?’
Then perhaps we shall sit and talk and dine together
And watch our children play, who have never met
Then perhaps we shall start to realize
How bad the old world was
And start to build something new
Together.
Labels: sustainable living
posted by RAS at 2:52 PM
4 Comments:
Gee, that would be a nice way for industrial society to end. While I definitely support turning off the TV (and even the computer) and getting to know people better, I fear many people will be freaking out without their cars, phones, and televisions, and hardly in a mood to be friendly.
That said, I certainly hope that there will be people ready to "start to build something new together."
What a lovely and heavy poem. I love how you think, Ras. I so wish more would do so...
Its interesting that MoonRaven is the other commenter here, because I was given a "Bookworm award" by her and I wanted to give one to you! You can find more information in the comments of my Dec. 9 post.
Moonraven, that poem is based on the assumption that everything doesn't turn off all at once, ala 'The Change' series. If it did, a lot of people would be freaking out. (Including me, at least for a bit. Then I'd go rob the nearest gun store and round up my friends from the SCA -hey, survival first!)
SBT, I'll check it out.
I lived without electricity, running water, or a telephone for 5 days a week ago, and I can tell you that we really did get into a rhythm. To be honest, I wouldn't have cared it if went on indefinitely, if I had had a hand pump, a simply way of blowing up the heat from the downstairs woodstove (it was exceptionally cold those days) and a wood burning cook stove in the kitchen. I know it was temporary. We all did. But it is amazing how, as this poem goes, one just adjusts and establishes deeper but simpler relationships with people around you. That's why living in a place you love, around people you love, is so important.
Post a Comment
<< Home