Lullaby’s Retort

Farmers of yore took to Whitney’s gin

with reverence and awe.

Efficiency rose and optimism simmered

at the birth of the Industrial Revolution.

 

Nations rejoiced and countless families sighed

with relief

when allies declared victory

in 1945.

 

Eishenhower warned of the dangers

of the military industrial complex,

though.

 

Beauty and simplicity became

collateral damage

replaced by machinery and might

in the name

of profit and security.

 

Grinding gears and billowing smoke

drowned a landscape of inherent beauty.

Sleepless nights, sweaty palms, and forged metal

filled hungry stomachs with dangerous minds.

 

At least the effects were obvious.

 

Compressed lines of computer code

virtualized the human condition

and replaced the metal and smoke

that replaced the rooster’s cry.

 

Have we anymore

a lover’s touch, a mother’s lullaby,

or random acts of kindness?