Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Susan Hawthorne #12 when the power goes out

when the power goes out
the fuse gets blown on your
assumptions of cooking dinner
on time, of watching your favourite
TV program, of listening to the current CD

when the power goes out
and you don’t know when it’ll
be back, what can you do but search
for all the torches find the candles, the matches,
the headlamps so you can cook hands free not in the dark

when the power goes out
you think about the future, a
time when climate change will
blow all the fuses as we swelter in
homes not built for un-air-conditioning

when the power goes out
you think of all the generations
who lived before us without electricity,
about the raw heat and cold, the competence
of life without mod cons, plasma and instant music

when the power goes out
you know that one day you
will need to do more than just
plan to give up coffee, since one long
black is equal to twenty-five light globes

when the power goes out
you sit and think too much




No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.