ENVIRONMENTAL Poem: History’s Future, by Zachary Garripoli

Centuries ago,
when they dismantled Jupiter through Pluto
to construct a sphere around the inner worlds,
no one thought about the consequence
of emptying the sky.

But whales, and certain plankton
necessary for sustaining life,
recoiled in horror.

When those species disappeared,
it was attributed to:
a chemical imbalance in the sea,
El Nino,
and a lengthening of days
in which the clock’s hands slowed.

Centuries ago they extruded a tube
between the Moon and Mars.

In less-than-an-hour you could be breathing
recirculated Martian air,
which smelled a bit like smog at first,
but you got used to it.

They made progress.
They did away with war,
about the time they did away with thinking
for yourself, as well as speaking out,
and dreaming.

The future held the world in awe,
and then contempt. If it was the beginning
or the end, no one dared to say.

Centuries ago things began to change
so fast, they couldn’t stop
to write it down.

They made it easy to forget
the lessons history would never teach.