Move On…

A whimsical reflective poem on the aeons, the Anthropocene and, latterly, artificial intelligence (and why do we have to capitalise A in Anthropocene)…

Dirty plates

so Earth is,

as aeons

spun orbits

round the sun.

Dry became

wet, and warm

refroze as

continents

drifted, con-

tent to up-

sticks and spawn

rainy shores.

Rift valleys

opened up

and steppes grew

tall so that

conditions

set the stage

for the An

-thropocene.

Tectonics

created

human form,

hunting and

gathering

became a

farming space

then became

industry

and lately

artific-

illy smart

We reform

the planet,

change weather

lay new ground

wipe the green

layer off.

The future

will see us

laid in rocks,

plastic here

metal there

salty soil

a marker,

a line we

crossed so quick

compared with

geolog-

ical time.

Too late? Let’s

honour an

ancient

agreement

when humans

and Gaia

coexist.

Move on, get

over it

you are floa-

ting on it!

Michael Hewson, 2023