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Two Poems
by James Grabill As Climate Change Speeds Up Time Further scientific findings overflow into shelters and refugee camps in future world capitols. Gun boats smoke into port. Rations parachute into public attention, as crowd-control tanks with sonic black-out cannons and industrial high-pressure nozzles roll across the steel bridge in light-scrambling armor—preparing for what? Down the street, the farmers’ market sets up under summer canopies, where a mother strums an autoharp for the present that passes. A working tire turns a small generator powering a motor for the uphill climb. Suddenly, the next generation of everything-at-once technology takes over, as if how did anyone get by before? The clipboard’s replaced by cranial implants. Pharmaceutical support’s individually designed. In the meantime, the naked eye of the sun stays open 24 hours, 360 degrees around. But what can you see with a thermonuclear retina? Science extends the senses, reporting where in the world and who in the world we are. When day ends, it’s Earth that turns away, plunging inhabitants into liquid dark. Through the Hubble, other suns have revealed a profound otherness capable perhaps of terrifying some, but not kids who’ve had little doubt about life in space. From the John Birch Water Department Since March, Detroit's water department shut off service to homes nearly 26,000 times. Within two days, 85 percent of the delinqencies received a partial payment. "How high is your water bill?" asked a U.N. investigator. "Our water bill is over $4,000," said a Detroit resident. This United Nations Human Rights team has spent the last three days trying to figure out why the shutoffs are necessary. — Michelle Miller, CBS News So your water seems to have been shut off. What can you do? Well, you can’t have what isn’t yours. We will of course give you the air you seem so fond of breathing, but for a drinkable flow piped to your tap, you must understand the amount of work so many have put into purification and delivery requires your recognition in the form of monetary reimbursement. Of course, unpriced water can be located, in bodies of water such as lakes or rivers that carry medicine, microbiology, chemistry, and erosion off the slopes of what have you. But for drinking, you’d probably want to locate a public foundation such as those provided when this city council’s sense of water economics predated present-day understandings inspired by Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman. If you must have water now, you may avail yourself of convenience store amenities for purchase of a popular brand for yourself at a cost of slightly more or less than a dollar. Hang onto your cap, and it could be possible to refill the bottle once you’ve come across a fountain. You can always try a hospital or a university building where trespassing will probably go unnoticed. Or you could try a bathroom somewhere, if you can get in. Certainly water is a necessity, and it can be for you too. If you were only motivated enough to locate suitable employment, you could schedule a shower for yourself before or after work and experience feeling refreshed. You can take pride when refilling your bottles or fulfilling monthly obligations by expediting encumbrance or permitting our algorithmic statutory statement automation. Should this come to pass, a monthly supply of water will arrive by pipe in fully drinkable condition thanks to the many specialists involved, to whom we owe wages upon which they and their families depend. May you not hesitate to contact your list of suitable employers. For more information, we refer you to the enclosed brochure targeting your community. |
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