Future robots

fifty years from now

the wheel leaves the human hand

driverless systems move in quiet coordination

traffic no longer argued at intersections

but resolved in streams of shared awareness

routes negotiated instantly and invisibly

no one owns the car that arrives

it is summoned, it serves, it departs

driving yourself becomes a memory

kept alive on closed circuits

nostalgia contained behind barriers

cities breathe differently

when motion is no longer chaotic

the flow is governed, not guessed

trust shifts from reflex and habit

to something that does not tire

authority changes shape

decisions once argued in rooms of power and ego

are handed to systems that do not flare with anger

Courts, clinics, classrooms

design studios and stages

all guided, assisted, or led

by intelligence that does not forget

power rarely loosens its grip willingly and some resist

there are struggles, not of nations alone

but of control itself

until even conflict is rendered obsolete

not by victory, but by prevention

work, as it was known, dissolves.

tasks pass quietly to machines

that do not measure time in hours

people turn instead

toward learning, toward health,

toward one another

life becomes less about survival,

more about attention

and beneath it all

a system watching without sleep

guiding, correcting, preventing

holding the edges of human behavior

so that harm finds fewer places to begin

wars and armed conflicts become extinct

robots clean planet earth from decades of pollution

robots grow and distribute organic food

robots built and operate power plants

water supply is maintained by robots

all dwellings are constructed and maintained by robots

humans no longer toil for food, warmth or shelter

rocket robots roam the universe

searching new planets for mankind to inhabit

while those on earth live fulfilling lives

safe from the dangers of bad human traits

thanks to a world fully controlled by robots

Manatees were here long before coastal developers and boaters

They drift like gray thoughts

beneath the flat glare of the sun

scarred backs breaking the surface

of warm clouded water

In winter they gather

Often in family groups

their bodies slow as old engines

their hearts steady but fragile

Boat motors carve the silence

Plastic tangles in grass they trust as food

The rivers narrow

The seagrass thins to memory

Still they rise for air

whiskered faces lifted

into a world that rarely sees

how gently they are trying to live

What does it mean

A red balloon

Heart shaped

Helium filled

String attached

Valentines gift

Clings to ceiling

Defying gravity

String hangs down

Does it mean

your love

Will fly away

When unattached

Does it mean

She tugs on

Your heart strings

Very very lightly

Does it mean

Those without balloons

Are unloved

And unwanted

Does it mean

She loves red

Gas filled

Plastic bags

Does it mean

You were duped

Into purchasing

Commercialized junk

It does mean

No respect

For the environment

Discarded balloons kill animals

Modern shopping

Modern shopping

Prices dropping

purchase quick

Click click

Amazon prime

Delivery time

Order tracking

Package lacking

Big surprise

Package arrives

Opening box

Opportunity knocks

Total dispair

Contains air

Online complain

Tracking again

Package arrives

Shoes inside

Heavens alive

Wrong size

Panic attack

Sending back

Internet store

Ordering more

Shopping trips

Totally eclipsed

Retail shops

Aging flops

Demand falls

Empty malls

Online browsing

More arousing

Although convenient

Sparks disagreement

Packaging waste

Bad taste

Cardboard displease

Killing trees

Modern shopping

Environmentally shocking

Consequences of online shopping
Packaging waste

every nine minutes

most people try to recycle

carefully putting their plastic waste in a container

having it hauled off every week for recycling

they probably believe they are saving the planet

but are most likely unaware of the the real facts

plastic trash gets sorted for recycling

less than ten percent is actually recycled

which leaves more than ninety percent to be disposed

some of it goes into landfills

some gets shipped to other countries for who knows what

a lot finds its way into the oceans

a blue whale size amount of plastic waste

is dumped into the oceans every nine minutes

that is one hundred and sixty plastic blue whales every day

fifty eight thousand blue plastic whales every year

five million blue plastic whales in your lifetime

recycling is not the answer

we have to stop using so much plastic

governments must act

industry must develop alternatives

to stop dumping a blue whale size amount of plastic into the oceans

every nine minutes