Wednesday, August 8, 2018

The History of Humankind


One day, an ape picked up a small stone tool,
became a human, turned into a fool.
The humans harnessed flame and made the wheel,
built many weapons of iron and steel.
Made wars, explored, crowned kings, beheaded queens,
built cities with industrial machines.
Wrote books, freed slaves, built schools—we’re not so bad.
Sent rockets blasting off from our launch pads.
Always connected, never once alone.
Now lonely dumb apes, glued to our smart phones.


1 comment:

  1. This poem was written for GISH (Greatest International Scavenger Hunt), on behalf of my team, The Clock People. The task to be completed was as follows: "Hemingway was (falsely) credited with writing a six-word 'novel.' Of course that’s obscenely ambitious and can’t be done. Let’s tackle something more manageable. Write a rhyming, metered poem that captures all of the pivotal moments in human history starting with the invention of stone tools leading to the invention of the smartphone. Finished poem must be between 50 and 100 words." So this was my humble attempt at this impossible item.

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