Awash
the unthinkable prospect
of a world in which I am left
to my own devices
which are few and as soon
as the batteries die useless
first order of business
I draw a map in the sand
mark where I stand as the capital
of civilization within me the
detailed blueprints of the pyramids
and the concept of zero
beyond me the finite frontier
the many miles of undeveloped
shoreline with spectacular views of a
sea filled with intricately depicted
monsters I have a lot to do before
I introduce the new world
to art and astronomy and industry
medicine and technology
ethics politics democracy
by a show of hands we shall elect
which tree to burn in the first fire
Copyright Credit: Brian Russell, "Awash" from The Year of What Now. Copyright © 2013 by Brian Russell. Reprinted by permission of Graywolf Press. www.graywolfpress.org
Source: The Year of What Now (Graywolf Press, 2013)