Legacy

If one day, our planet
Having not been reduced
To cold ash by human hands,
Or that of some power
Of the universe-
A truly foreign foot
Sets down on this planet
That once hummed with electricity
And human life,
To learn more of the beings
That had once inhabited it-
Crawled it's surface,
Cultivated it's soil,
Swam in it's waters,
Flew through it's skies-
What will they find?
By that time I'm certain
The bones of more
Proud and beautiful people
Will have been reduced
To dust long before
The last of the last has
Taken their final breath,
When our kind is but a faint echo
Trailing off into eternity.
There will be no mistaking
Our legacy for one
Of our ancestors'-
None are safe in their graves
From the alien anthropologists' eyes-
Will those scientists from afar
Dig deep into the earth
And become disheartened at finding
Aluminum pop tabs,
Scuffed chrome hubcaps,
And moldy sections of plastic pipes-
Instead of clay pottery shards,
Tarnished silver coins,
Or faded bits of loom woven tapestries
Dyed with boiled indigo?
Will they clear away tangled brush
And sigh at the sight of
This century's ruins-
The skeletons of automobiles
Gutted by rust,
The shells of houses
built of particle board-
Their main living chambers furnished
With moldy polyester funiture,
Situated to focus on a common idol-
A dead, glass-windowed plastic box,
It's guts a mass of copper wiring?
Will they long for the sights of
Temples erected in honor
Of long forgotten Gods
Furnished with alters
Carved from slabs of marble,
Their halls stocked with all manner
Of treasure and tribute?
If this was the sum of our species,
Our creations that were meant to endure-
What will be said about us
When the scholars among those foreign feet
Write about us in their textbooks?
 

Reviews

[Siobhan MacIntyre]

I think the title is perfect. The poem is, after all, about what we leave behind.

My own beliefs lean more toward there being nothing left at the end of the human race--not even the earth, but in the event I'm wrong... I love technology, but it has definitely come at a price, and while I'm no environmentalist, I do think the human race has not precisely practiced good stewardship of our resources over the last century or so. I also believe there's damn little we can do that will ever destroy the earth completely, but I think we sure can make living here doggone unpleasant.

You've articulately voiced some rowing modern concerns without being preachy and accusatory--and that is the best way to engage people's attention and make them want to listen. Nicely done. ;-)

[Fran Marie]

~Keep the title as is~as it is very fiting to the content of the poem~What kind of Legacy will be left~Great Job on this one~Fran Marie

[julian3]

Another superb piece; the title is indeed fitting, and the context both sobering and encouraging of introspection. Yet as is the case with your works, you never allow the topic to take away from the meter, rhythm or 'feel' of the poem. Well done!

[Dezaraye]

I like the title. You've done a really great job with this. I wonder, too, sometimes what will be written about us and how much of what is written about other ancient peoples is actually true.

[Shane Patrick]

I like the title as its a kind of along the same lines.. what kind of legacy will we leave for people to witness? this is a good write, no matter how you slice it we will be gone someday and who knows what our legacy will be... well done!