We dug down into the past
and we found that thousands of years ago
there were people who lived exactly as we do now.
Like us, they had cars. They had computers and credit cards.
Like us, they were reliant on fossil fuels.
They had glossy magazines. They even had pornography.
They had drugs to cure diseases, and technologies
to aid in childbirth.
Like us they reached extreme ages.
Remains of eighty and ninety year-old
men and women were found
buried in clothing
made from synthetic materials.
Many were uncovered holding
what might have been remote-controls
or cellphones.
In some of the graves
earplugs were found still on their wires,
one to each side of their skulls,
as if placed there.
The lipless mouths smiled at us.
A whole civilization had flourished and been destroyed.
Having seen it with our own eyes, we became furious:
Why had we not been told about this before?!