machines

the machines are our issue

at first they pulled the loads

hoisted and pushed the parcels

of goods and earth

that saved us from remaining pharaonic slaves

at least that was the line we heard echoed

at home

in school

at all the cermonies and celebrations

then the machines made time

into something self~conscious

they saved time... from being mere solar and lunar

revolutions that a man could count

and made it super-human

able to make delicate and complex calculations

that an army of einsteins with smart bombs

in their brains couldn't crack or keep up with

they made the artwork

for the artists

they made our fantasies look more real

than real

they put us in touchless touch with ourselves

and others

they corrected themselves in time

they didn't take up space like a boulder

a tree or a plain where bison ran in herds

these machines made by many

minds

freed free speech speechlessly

until in time

they learned how to speak to us and

for us

in our voices

the machines could do shopping and chores and

provide sexual stimulation

in time they repaired themselves

they became smaller and smaller

until humans implanted them in their brains

without suffering so much as a headache

only then were we were close to understanding

how much we resembled machines

all along from the beginning

which is why we made

and reproduced them

in our own image

in the end

we desperately longed to mirror them

to become them

fast sleek ageless

at present

which is rushing toward the future

we can say

we did not not make ourselves

but we did make the machines