A Day

With one, mighty, all-encompassing breath,
A civilization woke.
 

Lying in beds,
Walking in parks,
Working in factories and offices,
Flying in the air in metal craft,
Vacationing on brown islands.
Learning in halls of study,

They woke.

As of a single mind,
Consciousness swept away layers of mist,
And the living entities,
laughed and spoke in whispers
Like children engaged in mischief.
They were delighted
They were enthralled.
 

They were puzzled.
 

It was early morning and the sun was rising
On parts of the world.
They spent their day toiling
Though no one told them to do so.

In the evening, they sat and ate,
By themselves in lonely, one-room apartments,
Together, in loving family groups,
Some ate from wooden bowls,
Squatting on the dirt floors of tin shacks.
Some had nothing to eat,
Some had too much.
Later, some played games,
Some continued eating.
Some made love.
Others watched others in small boxes with glass fronts.

Then they went back to sleep.