"Uh-oh!" they exclaimed
upon hearing of the new invention,
the lightbulb.
"Now people will stay up all night
and act tired and shiftless all day.
Technololgy is man's downfall."
"Bad news!" they cried
when they learned of the newfangled instrument,
the pencil.
"People will get lazy knowing they can just
erase and correct their mistakes.
Civilization's going to hell in a handbasket."
"Watch out!" was the cry
when first seeing the clothespin.
"Look at the potential for accidents!
What if some poor infant chokes or strangles?
The modern world is too hazardous."
"Urf" they said
when realizing the implications of the new invention,
language.
"Gorf mibbit, rabble garoompa, pffftht!"
As the children of the wise men stayed up all night
writing indecipherable words with their pencils,
trading clothespins with their lips
in the dirty yellow light.
Copyright 1995 by Frank Brown