seven

these new roadways of modern existence

forming a maze way of the contemporary lifestyle

a new suburban plan of global megalopolises

the renewed, redeveloped city-scape

contemporary concrete and plastic earth scape

digital, computerized mindscape

which new avenue to turn down now?

which cul-de-sac to avoid?

which international airport?

which cosmopolitan shopping mall?

which way to downtown, uptown, which town?

all new roads lead to megalopolis

the crucial, complicated questions

of a brave new age

of megalo-maniacal compartmentalization

a new choral litany of repetitive monotony

and crowded cacophony

nature made over once, twice, thrice

infinity in a grain of silica

nirvana in a kernel of rice

immortality guaranteed by a bit of silicon

made over completely in new artificial designs

with some semblance of human order

designer organization

glowing street lamps

that defeat the darkness of the nighttime

road signs to redirect the systematic madness

a new asphalt labyrinth entombing the earth

a reinforced honeycomb structure of steel and concrete

encasing the entire earth

life struggling for survival

for renewal, revitalization

in every tiny crack, every little seam

to recover lost ground, take root in a plastic desert

beneath the dead weight of mechanized, industrialized waste

threatening to bring back disorder to an enclosed

square system without bounds

without any end

without an edge

who shall eventually win this roundabout race?

who shall find their way out from this never ending

maze way of developmental disorder

and designer chaos

who shall make their way back to the top

of this heap of synthetic effluvia?

so easy to become lost and confused

so easy to despair

to lose touch with nature

to lose sight of reality

without a destination

without a compass or a map

without an end in sight

without any edge