Poem 26: archaeology

From Napowrimo.net:  "Have you ever heard someone wonder what future archaeologists, whether human or from alien civilization, will make of us? Today, I’d like to challenge you to answer that question in poetic form, exploring a particular object or place from the point of view of some far-off, future scientist. The object or site of study could be anything from a “World’s Best Grandpa” coffee mug to a Pizza Hut, from a Pokemon poster to a cellphone."

*

Dark Mirror of Desire

Many living spaces

crafted themselves 

around this 

black rectangle,

or "television," 

a viewing "screen" 

often hung -- 

as an artwork?

 -- over a defunct 

(or staged)

"fireplace."

One commentator

in the 20th century

called it 

"the electronic hearth."  

We can observe,

from ancient ruins,

how inhabitants

ringed the object

with crude furniture

(cf. "LaZboy," 

"sofa" or "couch,"

and "bean bag chair"),

as if to mimic 

ancient arenas 

devoted to 

human sacrifice

(cf. "hangings" 

in "The Middle East,"

and "football"

in the midsection

of Old Northamerica.) 

The early relational unit, 

(cf. "the nuclear family,"

"roommates")

sat around it during 

long evenings

when brainwaves,

drawn low from 

menial "workplace" calculations

(cf. repetitive mental aerobics)

recharged, 

usually by switching to 

"energy-save" mode.

Anthropologists tell us

they are close

to replicating 

3rd millennium technology

which will allow them

to "watch" 

(cf. unfiltered eyesight) 

an archive of "DVD" records

(cf. "digital video disc")

of visual and auditory information

discovered recently

in settlements dating back

to 2010, 

after excavating hundreds of feet

into the Old Northamerican desert

over what was once known 

as "Wisconsin."

Though these records are

extremely degraded,

professors at The University

of Extra Holy Healing

in New Old Northmeximerica

expect to report 

within the year 

on the contents of 

these venerable documents,

which Dr. Hooligan, Director

for the Centre of Holistic

Mind Expansion at UEHH,

has tentatively identified

as a form of 21st century propaganda 

entitled "The Apprentice."

If recovered, UEHH professors say,

these records may shed light

on the events leading to

The Great Collapse

of the beginning

of the last millennium,

and may offer insight

into the resulting 

Centuries of Darkness, 

which until now have been

inaccessible to

modern understanding.