Davenport Tomorrow

Davenport Tomorrow
by Michael R. Burch

 
Davenport tomorrow ...
all the trees stand stark-naked in the sun.
 

Now it is always summer
and the bees buzz in cesspools,
adapted to a new life.
 

There are no flowers,
but the weeds, being hardier,
have survived.
 

The small town has become
a city of millions;
there is no longer a sea,
only a huge sewer,
but the children don't mind.
 

They still study
rocks and stars,
but biology is a forgotten science ...
after all, what is life?
 

Davenport tomorrow ...
all the children murmur through vein-streaked gills
whispered wonders of long-ago.