A lithium battery powers
most of our favorite devices—
a charge every twenty-four hours
for typical usage suffices.
Billions of tiny transistors
enable these wonders of science:
video calls between sisters,
virtual briefings with clients,
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections,
a camera for taking a photo,
GPS-guided directions
in Kentucky, Kyiv, or Kyoto,
apps that are snappy and nifty,
a podcast for every headphone,
a live-stream for every Swiftie
(as long as they’re not in a dead zone).
Diversions supremely accessible!
Conveniences almost unending!
Activity near-irrepressible—
recommending and friending and trending!
If the power grid ever stops humming,
these gadgets will soon be left juiceless—
each marvel abruptly becoming
a brick that’s remarkably useless.
Steven Searcy is the author of a poetry collection, Below the Brightness. His poems have appeared in various magazines and literary journals. He works as an engineer in fiber-optic communications and has authored technical papers for IEEE conferences and journals.
