I’d been thinking about this a long, long time.

   Wondering What Would Happen

Not a futurist, apocalyptic pessimist,
But I’ve fantasised,
Imagined what it would be like
If by some fluke, some evil act,
Some karmic sequence of events,
The lights lost power:
Hour when the sky grew dark
We had no lightbulb to turn on,
No stove or oven,
Instant water from a valve
Wired heater there to to solve,
No recourse to the digital:
No things at all
For comfort and convenience  
We’ve grown used to.

Me, I’d have to write in pencil or
What ink or lead was there.
I’d have to learn to grow -
Cultivate and plough to live;
Contrive a greenhouse to survive.
Learn where, how to find the carbs,
The protein, fat…  
What to have  and where they sat.

That’s only me;  No family
To feed with nutrients they’d need.
I have someone who chops the  wood.
For goodness’ sake, I have the woods!
Dependency on things electric
Is approximately half of the world
(hurling out a random number)
Members of the global race
Seem to be laced with ruination…
Nation after ruined nation.

Answers lie not in religion,
Not in -ism,
But in thoughtful and reflective -ation:
Contemplation, meditation;
Intellect and heart and action.
Wondering what would, could happen
But a step.

Wondering What Would Happen 2.10.2021 Our Times, Our Culture II; Arlene Nover Corwin