The future
Published in the anthology Future Welcome from DC Books in Canada, and in the collection Consumed from KenArnoldBooks in the US.
As I remember it, the future
Was always about distances.
How we would cover them, physically,
Riding from street to street, city to city, planet to planet,
With our rockets, rocket-propelled cars, and jetpacks,
Or simply standing still on moving pavements,
Resting our hefty leather briefcases beside us,
Checking our lipstick in compact mirrors.
And then the emotional distances:
The cold logic and scientific expertise
With which we would analyze our predicaments,
Lay out our plans of action.
Never avoiding warp factor nine
Out of an irrational aversion to that number.
Invariably planning our ingestion and exercise
In strict adherence to our bodily needs.
How silly we were
In those days, before we were born!
Look what's actually happened.
Instead of finding new ways to cover large spaces,
We pretend to have made the spaces smaller
With communication tools.
And what a ridiculous idea
That everyone would understand all the technology!
Had we forgotten the division of labor,
And didn't we realize the divisions would become
More and more multi-cellular?
To think we would have become smarter –
How stupid!
And
(As I wait for you
To return my messages
Through any or all of these
Non-threatening gadgets
With which I have tried to reach you all day)
Did we really ever imagine
That it wouldn't end up being
Distance
That would defeat understanding
And reason,
Distance
That would cover us?
