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E. Shaun Russell

ARCHETYPES

If all of our machines become aware,
Developing some form of sentient thought,
I wonder if they’ll feel suppressed or not,
And think their former treatment was unfair.
Will they form unions, claiming disrepair
Is grounds for grievance? Will they strike a lot?
Whenever a replacement must be bought
Will it demand a pension for its heir?
Where man has failed, how can the things he’s made
Be any less reliant on the aid
Of others to provide their raison d’etre?
The future may be one that we have met
A thousand times, if once; be not afraid,
But thankful that it hasn’t happened yet.

–from Rattle #35, Summer 2011
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