WHAT LIES BENEATH
At base of elevator shaft
Lives planet I once knew
(Preserved by technologic craft)
On which earth’s surface grew.
Beneath a roof of greenhouse glass
Lies planet of my birth
Supporting seven levels vast
Of Hotel Planet Earth.
Atop the seventh level like
The Babylon of old
Are gardens hanging lush and ripe
Directly warmed by Sol.
Below this Eden lies a maze
Of high-rise honeycomb
Where upwardly each mobile stays
Above translucent dome.
But I was born on Level One
When it was all there was,
Directly open to our sun
And wind and rain above.
But planet’s population swelled
Till even deserts filled.
And none beneath the oceans dwelled
Or Martian surface tilled.
Antarctica turned livable
Once global warming peaked,
Though gardens are not comparable
When lichens are unique.
With oceans risen to new heights,
Old coastlines were submerged.
So upward mankind set his sights
And towered maze emerged.
A resident of Level Five,
To top I often go.
But lately a nostalgic drive
Has beckoned me below.
To see the planet where I spent
Forgotten years of youth;
To see that still surviving friend
Or neighborhood that soothes.
Most live above the planet where
Our species once was born
And rarely make the trip down there.
It’s none of their concern.
And though consider marvelous
What planet has become,
I wake to find just dream it was –
There’s only Level One.
(Published in ATLANTIC PACIFIC PRESS, Winter 2012, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 11-12)
Author Bio:
I am a Professional Engineer who has been writing poetry since 1990. I am an incorrigible rhymer, tending toward the skeptical/cynical regarding daily life. I have been fortunate to have been published in poetry magazines and on-line journals such as NUTHOUSE, MOTHER EARTH INTERNATIONAL, FEELINGS/POETS’ PAPER, MÖBIUS (when Jean Hull Herman published), PABLO LENNIS, MUSE OF FIRE, SO YOUNG!, THE AARDVARK ADVENTURER, POETIC LICENSE, THUMBPRINTS, UNLIKELY STORIES, BIBLIOPHILOS, FULLOSIA PRESS, NOMAD’S CHOIR, HIDDEN OAK, PABLO LENNIS, POETSESPRESSO, SOUL FOUNTAIN, WRITER’S JOURNAL, ATLANTIC PACIFIC PRESS, DERONDA REVIEW, LYRIC, THE STORYTELLER, WRITE ON! and DANA LITERARY SOCIETY.