His name is Prometheus

Defiant titan and giver of fire

Rising figure of humanity

On his trail we can follow to the magnum opus of human feat

But time is never on our side

Instead, time stands against us as a wheel

Unwilling to turn

Uncaring to roll

With Ginsberg dead, who will put their shoulder to the wheel?

 

If I could change one thing

It would not be war

For war is much too complex to rid away with a mere wish

War is not always ugly

Standing before the American Revolution, how can one say it was not worth it?

Watching sickly ghosts haunt Auschwitz, how can one say it was not necessary?

Knowing the blood in the Antietam soil, how can one forget the Emancipation Proclamation?

 

If I could change one thing

It would not be Global Warming

For Global Warming is a footprint which we must remember

Much like the footprint ground into the Moon

It is a reality which we must learn from

It is written in the history book of our oracle bones

And we are its pupils

 

If I could change one thing

It would be to reignite the flame Prometheus left us

Blown out in the throes of the hurricane that is time

Blown out in the eccentricity of Gaia

Blown out in the quivering muscles of Atlas

Each of us were born humans

And with war, global warming, pestilence, famine, death, all clawing at the feet of back-broken men

I would fix their spines

I would fix our spines

I would become a teacher

I would become an inspiration to students

I would not let the flame of Prometheus go out without a fight

Together, humanity can orchestrate the magnum opus

Together, humanity can realize our woes’ ends

Together, humanity can find the light at the end of the tunnel

So if I could change one thing

It would be the empty handed students

If I could change one thing

It would be that I am not ready to teach

And so, I will change the one thing I would if I could, because I can