Legacy

What will they think of us?

200 years into our future

Long after our stories have faded,

After our lives' missions have been put to rest,

After our influence has run out,

And our desires forgotten.

After the world becomes unrecognizable,

And its people are just as foreign.

Will they think of us as primitive,

Just not knowing any better?

Will they think of us as their equal,

Doing the same as we are?

Will they pity us,

And our savagery and aggression?

Will they think of us as separate,

Will they be too advanced to even think about us in the same way?

But the possibility that scares me the most;

Will they envy us,

And our times of peace, and simplicity?

Will it get only worse from here?

Is this as good as it can get?

Why do we spend so much of our limited time making the worst of it?

Why do we assume that they can fix what we’ve already broken,

What we ourselves are unable, unwilling to fix?

Why do we think they’ll be able to put our own differences aside, when we haven’t put our ancestors’ behind us?

What will it take for us to move towards a world where they can look back on us in 200 years with pride?

Our time’s legacy being that of redemption,

One of breaking a vicious cycle that we’ve already largely fallen victim to.

I wonder…

Was this future guaranteed?

Are we hopeless in this goal of redemption?

Should we just be happy with what we have?

It can’t hurt to try.