To live or not to live
by the bay. That’s today’s
question. And by ‘today’
I mean an era.
I refer to a generation, possibly,
that will see the coastlines rip apart
in perpetual high tide. Multiple generations.
They will learn the art of the residence on stilts,
of the underground bunker, of the domed home
with a moat and self-sufficient solar grid.
The tree house will come back into vogue.
We’re in the peace before the moisture
wars–of annexed lakes and wells, aquifers
and their springs. Before the dam battles,
where we’ll wage conflict
from mill pond to waterwheel,
bodies scattered across
the headrace. ‘Remember the peace?’
We’ll have been tricked.
Build a better
purifier and do it now. While we’re at it,
build a new mousetrap, too.
Rats can swim and they live
everywhere we do.