the future is in color

the future is a rainbow cast in an oil slick
as the tankers burn behind it
colorful and beautiful
and built on the demise of everything we know
 
but the future is green they say
it will grow and sustain us all
it is the sun and the wind and the trees
and it is beautiful
 
yes, the future is green and rainbow and full of promise
 
*
 
the future when it comes is white and black and gray
and so very very clean
it is safety above all else
metal and silicone and poly poly something
I don’t understand it but it is good
 
the buildings the hyper-trains the space stations
are efficiency at its finest
nothing is wasted, no color out of place
it all lines up so nice and neat
 
but what of the plants you ask?
yes, they are safe too (everything is safe)
we keep them hidden away in metal metal buildings
 
they would not survive outside
who would take care of them out there?
 
but there are buildings and hyper-trains and space stations
so you do not need to miss them
there are other things to look at
 
all white and black and gray
 
*
 
every future leaves behind its past
and we lose something in each new age
 
we have lost the color of fire burning against the sky
turning the forest into a sunset
 
the splash of red yellow blue at the side of the road
that never fades
because plastic bags don’t disintegrate
 
we have lost the rainbow in the oil slick
 
the future is white and gray and black
and so very very clean
but I do not know if it is beautiful

Originally Published in New Reader Magazine