[orange nightmare] 

orange nightmare of clouds – 
for a moment they mirror
the horrors of a century
which lead the way
from Auschwitz Buchenwald Dachau to
Union Carbide 
the defoliated forests of Vietnam
the dark Bhopal night 
filled with coughing, tormented bodies 
while dead birds are dropping again
from the sky
while a dog is howling 
full of pain 
in some distant corner

In the rain forests of the Congo
another Conrad might chance today
upon the destructive greed of man
as the puppets of transnational corporations
put their bloodied hands on
coveted raw materials
Cell phones connect dubious lovers
and millions of lives are sacrificed 
on the bench of progress
in a wantonly rekindled war

And in far-away China
as thousands of skyscrapers begin to dot 
the inner cities of Beijing, of Shanghai
millions and millions 
of animals are raised 
in the same way – 
ignorant of their natural needs – 
that was pioneered 
by doctors and businessmen
in the West

Yes, we are traversing still
that same age of progress
that our forefathers craved 
and believed in
 

                                          Nov. 5, 2005