Back to the Cave

We fled the dark to find the light
and built a brighter darkness instead.
Screens for torches, data for dreams,
we mistook the hum of machines for the heartbeat of gods.

We paved the Garden Eden, called it growth,
poisoned the soil and called it profit.
When the Earth began to die,
we set our sights on the Moon and Mars —
thinking we would do better next time.

We’ll bring two worms, two cows, two pigs,
to start anew in barren dust.
Back to the cave, we go.
We’ll rebuild our prisons and call them dome,
But this time the walls are chrome,
the fire a blue screen glow.

Victory we will proclaim,
over God’s imposed limitations,
praising our species for surviving itself.
The shadows look convincing;
they speak in metrics, trends, and shareholder smiles.

From Heaven on Earth to Hell in Heaven, 
the still voice within continues to whisper:
Will you turn inward to see your inner light
or once again chase the mirage you thought was in sight?

Back to the cave.
The choice remains the same.
The blue pill or the red pill?